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By Sydney Peskin

The morning started by driving from Atlanta to Montgomery.  We arrived early, so we made a surprise visit to the minor league baseball stadium in Montgomery…the home of the Montgomery Biscuits!

The first thing on our schedule was to see where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus. I thought it was incredible to see where she actually stood up for what she believed in.  Then we went to the Rosa Parks museum. I really liked how we got to see the hologram reenactment of how Rosa Parks actually refused to move her seat.

After a good Southern lunch we went to the Southern Poverty Law Center. I really enjoyed seeing the memorial for all of the people who had died during the Civil Rights movement, fighting for their cause. The Southern Poverty Law Center fights hate groups and crimes today. Our group got into a great discussion on can, or should, we legislate hate thought or just actions.

We then drove to Birmingham. Lastly, we met with Bishop Woods which was my favorite thing we did today. Bishop Woods was at the center of the Movement in Birmingham. I loved getting to hear about things that happened to him first hand, opposed to reading a textbook. He was so positive even after all he has been through. While telling us his story in the park where the dogs were let loose on him and the fire hoses were turned on him, he taught us many of the songs from the Movement.  (Here are links to see videos of the group singing with Bishop Woods:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6U83hodkWI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyPSaXO_4VU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B1i4a_QQF0

I admire how much faith he has and how he is so spiritual. Today was a great day, and I learned a lot about the Civil Rights movement.

Our night ended with Billy preparing us for our visit to Memphis by talking about how rock and roll was a huge influence on bringing the races together and a major force in the CIvil Rights movement. He showed us how rock and roll developed from country, gospel and the blues as well as how it has evolved from Elvis to the music we listen today.

Today we had an eventful day in Alabama. It is very hot down here but very beautiful and rich in history.  First stop was the Rosa Parks Museum. The thing that affected and stood out to me at this museum was the holography movie that recreated the exact moment that Rosa Parks made history. I felt like I was there and discovered what it was like to be a bystander of the event.

at the spot where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat

After this museum we went to a very Southern style restaurant and many of us had fried chicken. This was a new experience especially for a New York girl like me.  Once we were done with lunch we went to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Outside of their building was an amazing memorial that remembers the lost souls and martyrs of the Civil Rights movement. This is very special in a way that no one will ever forget the names and stories of the important, as well as unknown, martyrs and events of our past.  Inside the center we learned about the work that the Southern Poverty Law Center does. They deal with various hate groups around the country. They monitor and report on them.  Sometimes they take legal action against them.

Civil Rights Memorial

We then traveled to Birmingham and arrived in a major lightning storm. This made us change our plans from meeting Reverend Woods in a park to finding a space in a meeting room at a hotel. We had a very special meeting with Reverend Woods. He told us his story of being at the center of the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham. He also got us on our feet and singing many of the songs from the Civil Rights era and taught us about the importance of music in the struggle. It was very enjoyable!

After dinner, Billy spoke to us about the history of rock and roll and how it developed and was an important part of bridging the gap between whites and blacks. It was incredible how each band and genre of rock and roll influenced the next. Billy linked how we moved from good old country music in the 1950s to Lady Gaga today. Now that takes some skill!

Finally we headed to our hotel but ended up at the wrong hotel! We thought Billy was joking when he told us but 15 minutes later we were at the right one! Touching on the social aspects of the trip, the time on the bus really allows me to get to know my new friends better as well as making even more new friends. For now, I have to go to sleep and work on my Southern accent to fit in….good night y’all!

After waking up from a much needed night of sleep, we started our 2.5 hour drive to Montgomery, Alabama. However, we did not expect to get stuck in 45 minutes of traffic just outside of Atlanta. Finally, we crossed the state line when our bus driver, Carlton, started playing “Sweet Home Alabama”. When this came on, the boys in the back of the bus (myself included) started obnoxiously singing along and kept singing various songs by such artists including: Sublime, The Backstreet Boys, and even Bon Jovi.
When we arrived in Montgomery, we went straight to the Rosa Parks Museum. We learned how just one strong powerful black woman helped start the Civil Rights movement. The exhibit included a recreation of what happened on that fateful December day in 1955. It was interesting how, with the help of Dr. King, the African-American community of Montgomery started the bus boycott. After realizing that the bus company was losing $3,000 a day, they tried to bribe the Black community into using the bus system again with a free week of bus rides. I found it extremely profound that the Blacks took that offer as an insult and started using a carpooling system by driving other people to work. It was even more interesting that even after the boycott, some Blacks decided to walk instead of getting back on the buses. Before coming to the Museum, I had no idea that the boycott lasted more than a year. We also learned that unlike in the famous picture of Rosa Parks sitting in the front row of the bus, she was actually arrested for not giving up her seat even though she didn’t have to because she was actually sitting in the front row of the black section, but there were no other seats available for the whites.

outside the Rosa Parks museum

After we left the Museum we had lunch at Martha’s Place. I had to agree with Billy when he said that she makes some great fried chicken and sweet tea. When we were done eating, we listened to Martha talk about her life story. She told us about her previous thoughts of suicide and being on welfare, but she held on to her dream of opening a restaurant. It was very inspiring listening to her story, especially when she told us, “If you can dream it, you can do it”. It is really true due to the fact that her restaurant has been open for 21 years even after no one believed she could do it.

speaking with Martha at Martha's Place

After lunch we went to the Southern Poverty Law Center and Civil Rights Memorial. The Memorial was created by the same woman, Maya Lin, who created the Vietnam Memorial in DC. It had 40 important names engraved into the stone. There was also water running over it. Behind this was a stone wall with water falling down it as well. Engraved in the wall was a quote from the book of Amos that has been used by Dr. King quite a lot: “Until Justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream”. In the museum we learned that there are over 922 different hate groups currently in America.

Civil Rights Memorial

inside the Southern Poverty Law Center

When we left the museum we traveled for another hour to Birmingham, Alabama. When we arrived we met with Rev. Woods, a preacher in the city during the Civil Rights movement. He told us many stories about how harsh the city was towards blacks including the Police Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor. He then started to teach us some of the freedom songs that helped motivate the young Black children. I thought it was very cool that, just like Martha, Rev. Woods told us that “when you dream, you can act, and they will come true.” I thought to myself about how amazing it was that two completely different people with two completely different stories, living in two different cities, told us the same thing. As we were leaving the park where we met Rev. Woods we all started singing with him. The song? Out of nowhere 45 white people with this one elderly black man walking in Birmingham started singing “This Little Light of Mine”. It was so moving to me.

with Rev. Woods in Freedom Park

showing us where he was attacked by police dogs

When we left the Reverend, we went to a local synagogue that made dinner for us. After dinner, we moved over to a side of the room where Billy spoke to us about the history of rock and roll (one of my favorite topics). We started talking about the amazing music from artists such as Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and, of course, the King himself, Elvis. We then talked about how by just changing the rhythms and beats the music morphed into the Doors, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Beatles, and Led Zeppelin. Who then influenced the music of Billy’s favorite musician (and mine), Bruce Springsteen.
Just before we left to go to the hotel, Billy played a song (to get us pumped for Memphis) by Marc Cohn, “Walking In Memphis”. Unlike most of the kids on the trip, I have never heard this song so I really listened as it was played. The chorus of the song was what really got to me:

“Then I’m walking in Memphis
Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale
Walking in Memphis
But do I really feel the way I feel”

The last line in the chorus is very interesting as he is singing about standing where all this history took place. When I heard the line, I thought to myself, how will I feel tomorrow when I am standing in the same place?”

For our first meeting on the road, the trip went smoothly. Two and a half hours after we left Atlanta we arrived in Montgomery, Alabama. There we went back to the beginning of the Civil Rights movement… the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Parks.

Located at the sight of famous bus stop where Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat is the Rosa Parks Library and Museum. It went beyond many museums I have ever been to before. In addition to the many pictures and documents of the events and the aftermath of the bus boycott, we got to see a virtual portrayal of Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat. I really, really loved how enthusiastic our tour guide was. While we were at the museum, I saw my favorite, and utterly true, quote of the day: “Women who behave rarely make history.”

An hour later we went for lunch and experienced some real Southern home cooking at a restaurant called Martha’s Place. After eating, we met Martha and heard her story. She was a woman who defied expectations and her own depression. She had been on welfare, drugs and alcohol as well as suicidal when she realized that she still had a dream to fulfill, and that was opening her own restaurant. She told us to dream big dreams and not let anyone tell us we can’t achieve them.

Our next stop was the Southern Poverty Law Center. This is an organization dedicated to the continued fight for Civil and Human Rights by exposing hate crimes and legally going after the hate groups. At the Center we were granted the opportunity to learn more about the martyrs who contributed to the Civil Rights movement. We also watched a video that told about many of their lives and this moved me to choked sobs. At the end of the exhibit we were able to add our names to the Wall Of Tolerance which means that we pledged to fight intolerance and hatred and it ended our visit here perfectly.

Today’s journey through the Civil Rights Movement ended with meeting Reverend Woods at Kelly Ingram Park and the 16th Street Baptist Church. Reverend Woods spoke to us about his experiences in the struggle for equality and also taught us many of the freedom songs and chants that the Civil Rights protesters sang when marching. He had the whole group singing and clapping along. Kelly Ingram Park was beautiful but it was so hard to imagine that less than 50 years ago it was the site where people were attacked by dogs and fire hoses.

The day came to a close when we had our wrap up (where everyone gets to reflect on their day) in the middle of the park. After dinner at Fire & Ice, a Mongolian BBQ, we made a stop at Temple Beth El, a Conservative Synagogue, and heard about how during the Civil Rights era, dynamite had been found at the front door only a few minutes before it was set to explode.

Next stop tomorrow… MEMPHIS!

Recreating the “freedom chants” with Reverend Woods

Singing with Reverend Woods

“And this is Etgar 36” was what the little voice in my head said to me when I woke up this morning. After breakfast and a two and a half hour ride we arrived in Montgomery, Alabama.

Stepping off our home on wheels, the Rosa Parks Museum opened up a new side to an old story. We started by listening to Billy talk about what the times were like in America on December 1, 1955. Everyone knows that Rosa Parks sat down and never got up but what was interesting to me was all that went into the boycott after her arrest and that, at least I think so, she had no understanding of the impact of her actions. All that this woman wanted to do was sit down after a long day and get home.

After seeing one famous woman in history, our bus headed for lunch. There, to my surprise, was another inspiring story that came to life. We went to eat at Martha’s Place and we spoke with Martha. She raised four sons by herself and was depressed, on welfare, on drugs and wanted to commit suicide. Instead, she found God and through her faith and determination opened a restaurant. It was amazing to hear that it took her over three years to open. It was a perfect Southern meal.

A good hearty lunch may have slowed us down, but we were uplifted by our visit to the Southern Poverty Law Center. They have been fighting the good fight against hate crimes and injustice since the 1970s. The founders of the Southern Poverty Law Center have been winning Civil Rights cases for their clients and do not accept any of the money that their clients win. For them it may be a job but for me they save lives.

Finally we made our way to Birmingham and got off the bus at Kelly Ingram Park. This is the place where blacks had the water hoses turned on them by the police, attacked by dogs and where four girls were killed at the 16th Street Baptist Church when it was bombed. The best part of being on this spot was meeting with Reverend Woods who actually worked with Dr. King and others to move the Civil Rights struggle forward in Birmingham. He is now the local President of the S.C.L.C. The same organization that Dr. King helped to create. Hearing his story of conflict and faith impacted us all and inspired us to rise above our hardships.

It is only the second day but Etgar 36 has already shown us more than we have ever learned and has proven a great way to bring to life what could be boring when read in a history book in school.

Today was a very busy and exciting day! After our drive from Atlanta to Montgomery, we went to the Rosa Park Museum located on the exact spot where she created a revolution on December 1, 1955. We watched an interesting reenactment which showed exactly how the historic event occurred.

We then went to lunch at Martha’s Place Restaurant for some good Southern cooking. After our meal, Martha spoke with us and conveyed her inspirational life story. She was on welfare, depressed, and suicidal. She never lost her dream of opening a restaurant so she put faith in her religion and started slowly building the restaurant we ate in today. She reminded each of us to believe in our potential.

Then we went to the Southern Poverty Law Center. We looked at their Civil Rights Memorial outside which moved many participants of the trip. Then we went inside and saw a video on the memorial called “Faces In The Water”. The short movie focused on the lives of the many victims that lost their lives during from the Civil Rights movement. Andrew Bleijwas from the Southern Poverty Law Center met with us to have an in-depth discussion about current social injustice in America ranging from immigrant workers to abuse at teenage “training” facilities. We learned about the valuable work that the Southern Poverty Law Center does.

We drove an hour to Birmingham where we met with Colonel Stone Johnson in Freedom Park. Mr. Johnson was involved in every major action taken for Civil Rights in Birmingham. He had a ton of good historical information along with some moral advice. What touched me the most was when he said “God is God for everyone”. His courage and the ability to still love after being treated so harshly is a beacon of hope for future generations.

We ended the day with some pizza at Mellow Mushroom and free time in Five Points part of Birmingham. All in all, a really good day.

“Sweet Home Alabama!” As we crossed the state line into Alabama from Georgia, that song echoed through the bus. We arrived in Montgomery and there we continued our journey. The first thing we did was stand at the site of the bus stop where Rosa Parks got onto the bus for one of the most famous rides of all time.

Similar to the feeling I had in front of Dr. King’s tomb yesterday, standing in front of the bus stop made me feel that I was completely within history. We then went into the Rosa Parks museum. The first stop was in an art gallery of painting made by African artists. I was particularly drawn towards a painting that was made up of a wide scheme of colors portraying African women with a variety of expressions on their faces. It really spoke to me in the sense that the term “color” represents more than their skin color but, more so, the color of what was inside.

Within the Rosa Parks museum we learned how hard it was to be African American during the Civil Rights Movement. It was a beautiful multimedia display that showed the history and the Rosa Parks bus incident.

Our next stop filled our stomachs as well as our hearts. Martha’s Place …home of some of the best fried chicken I have ever had. While the service wasn’t speedy…it was well worth the wait. After we ate, Martha, herself, came out to meet us. She told us her story of her will to overcome. Whether it was surgery, attempted suicide, doubt or welfare, Martha told us how she overcame.

Led by her belief in God, she followed her dreams to open a restaurant. Her words echoed through my mind and I got this feeling of true determination. Determination was a theme that echoed throughout the day.

From the power of Rosa Parks to that of Martha and then to the power of a man named Andrew and the organization he works for, the Southern Poverty Law Center. This is an group that fights hate groups.

Andrew told us how the SPLC has made changes stretching form the Klan’s murder of a African American woman to fighting the extremely unfair treatment of teens in prison. Andrew’s message to us was that Civil Rights is still a battle that needs to keep being fought.

An hour later we arrived in Birmingham, Alabama. We took a walk down “Freedom Walk” with an amazing man, Col. Stone Johnson. He has experienced the Civil Rights Movement. He walked with us and showed us statues commemorating the struggle that he was a part of.

While his voice may have been hard to hear, his story spoke loudly. We also went on a bus ride with him through parts of the city that were bombed, giving Birmingham the nickname, Bombingham. It was also stunning to see the extreme poverty of some of this city up close. It makes you wonder if and when money is spent in the right way.

After this we went to Five Points and had dinner at the Mellow Mushroom pizza restaurant and had some time to walk around that part of town.

Our first day on the road with Etgar36! Montgomery, Alabama is our first stop of the trip. Halfway there a tire blows. I have never seen a raggedier tire in my life. We spent the next hour playing Frisbee, tossing a football, and listening to Josh play the guitar. As we start on the road again with a brand new tire I feel sufficiently bonded with my fellow Etgarians.

Once we arrive in Montgomery, our amazing group begins an introduction to the civil rights movement. At Martha’s Place we ate fried chicken, corn bread, mashed potatoes, and sweet tea until our sides were busting. Martha’s story is an inspiring one; she began her restaurant while on welfare with no one but herself to believe in her dream. Sixteen years later she is a successful businesswoman with an amazing restaurant that is constantly expanding. Her faith is incredibly inspiring considering the adversity she overcame to become the woman she is today.

Next, we visited the Rosa Parks Museum. Although I have learned the basics of Rosa Parks’ encounter in school many times, the reality of her situation did not fully occur to me until I saw the evidence and heard the personal experiences of people who lived the story. The civil rights exhibit revealed the degradation of blacks in public transportation in a way I had never known existed.

The Southern Poverty Law Center was our next stop for the day. They are a non-profit organization that represents people and groups to fight discrimination. We watched a video and walked around the waterfall monument dedicated to those who lost their lives to the civil rights cause.

We then traveled to Birmingham where we went downtown to Freedom Park. It is a park with monuments and statues detailing episodes of the struggle for Civil Rights. We were given a tour by a walking/living history book, Reverend Woods. He was very involved in the struggle and was often beaten and arrested. He made the struggle come to life for us.

We went to Mellow Mushroom which provided the best pizza dinner I have had in a month. I cannot wait until tomorrow.

Etgar 36 2004 at the very spot where Rosa Parks boarded the bus and started the revolution

Martha, owner of Marthas Place, sharing her inspirational story

Enjoying some of the best in Southern food at Marthas

Reverand Woods sharing his story with the teens in Freedom Park

Josh DeYoung, Josh Dubin and Aaron Backer at the Civil Rights Monument in Montgomery

We were very anxious about our next guide who we had heard little about.  As we pulled up to Birmingham Civil Rights Institute there was a very tall black man who was dressed in a stylish green polyester suit. This was Mr. Colonel Stone Johnson our much-anticipated new guide. Although quiet with his low voice at times, he was like a civil rights history that was overflowing with lore.  It just seemed amazing to me that the actual ground we were standing on was where all these historical protests and bombings occurred just 40 years ago.  It was as if we were walking in the same footsteps as the civil rights activists through the words of the Colonel.

We took a walk around a park dedicated to the lives lost to the struggle for civil rights, it was known as the Freedom Walk.  There were many thought provoking and frightening statues placed all around.  It really had an impact on me and made me think about the lives lost and tears shed through the civil rights era.

After a 2-hour history lesson by our awesome Colonel, we headed to the Mellow Mushroom to grab something to eat. Everyone seemed to love the environment of the free spirited pizza restaurant. It was very good and filled us all up very nicely.

Later we went back to the hotel where the love grew even more through activities. All the guys took a Frisbee outside and chilled.  Who knows what the girls did. We ended the day with a debriefing where we all shared a little something about the day and how we felt the trip is going so far.  It was a good note to end on.

One last note is that the love in this group is just great!  It is as if we have been together for at least a month by now based on how we act. I feel grateful to be part of such a close family and I can already tell that this is going to be an awesome summer.