MEMPHIS & LITTLE ROCK

- Shira Hinds
Our journey so far has been incredible! We began today with a ride from Birmingham to Tupelo. We stopped in Tupelo to see Elvis Presley’s birthplace. We had a nice discussion about how rock and roll impacted the world. As Billy said “it doesn’t take something revolutionary to create a revolution”. This statement is so true in that rock and roll was a musical way to express personal emotions and thoughts and ended up impacting the lives of so many people. It is incredible to me how this artistic form of expression has evolved over the years. Elvis is extremely inspirational to me in that he went against his times and incorporated many different styles of music that fit his personal beliefs. Also, I find it amazing that in the beginning rock and roll was shunned due to its themes of sex and freeing the mind and body and how it developed into an extremely positive and influential idea.

We then headed off to our next destination—Memphis. Here we visited the Rock and Soul Museum where we discovered the changes rock and roll made through the years. After the museum we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Huey’s and then got some time to walk around Beale Street and engage in some necessary shopping. We ended the night at the Rum Boogie Café where we enjoyed the beautiful rhythm and blues sounds of the Rum Boogie Blues Band. They were great! On our way back to the hotel we stopped and walked down to the banks of the wondrous Mississippi River.
Shake, Rattle & Roll! On Thursday the glorious music of Elvis was in the air as we continued on our journey. We began the day by touring the mansion of the late, great Elvis Presley – Graceland! His house was uniquely decorated with shag carpeting on the ceiling of the Jungle room.
Next we visited Sun Studios where we got to see the actual recording room Elvis as well as many others like Johnny Cash, U2, Matchbox 20 and others used. It was pretty intense! Our tour guide, Elderado, was awesome!

Then we went to the National Civil Rights Museum. It was amazing to see the timeline of our American heroes and how they changed the world for the better...not only for their generation, but also, for those generations to come. Outside the museum we walked over to meet with Jacqueline Smith, a woman who has been protesting the museum for 17 years and 140 days.

She believes that the money spent to build the museum would have been better used to help the poor that the museum displaced. In her opinion, this would have been a better legacy to Dr. King. Her story is inspirational to me because she believes that she can make a difference – and I wish her luck.
After that we drove to Little Rock and stopped at Central High School, which was the school in the center of the desegregation debate in the 1960s. We sat in front of the school and had a very deep conversation about Federal vs. State government and the idea of racism and segregation in our lives.

After that we went to our hotel – which by the way is the nicest one we have stayed in so far—and went swimming. What a ball! We ended the night by going into downtown Little Rock and listening to a live concert by a Mariachi band at a Latino festival. It was awesome! We also saw the famous “Little Rock”…and what a cute little rock it was!
And the beat goes on…

MONTGOMERY & BIRMINGHAM June 28, 2005

-- Ben Tepfer

“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.

ATLANTA -- June 27, 2005

- JUSTIN LEVY

Saul Bellows said "In the warmest of hearts, there is a cold spot for the Jews". This idea led us to our first meeting of our journey with Dale Schwartz and Rabbi Steven Lebow, two researchers and speakers on Leo Frank and his historic cause in 1913. First we heard about the case from Rabbi Lebow. In 1913, Leo Frank, a Jew from New York and an owner of a pencil factory in Atlanta was accused of murdering a young worker Mary Fagin. After a trial of skewed evidence and doctored testimony, Leo Frank was convicted and sentenced to death. The Governor of Georgia reduced the sentence to life in prison. While in a Georgia jail, 90 years ago this August, a mob of prominent Georgians took Leo Frank and lynched him.
We met our two speakers on the spot where the lynching took place 90 years ago this August.
Dale Schwartz worked over the 1980s to grant Frank a gubernatorial pardon. After years of research and working with the pardon board Schwartz earned Leo Frank a pardon in 1986. In 1995, Rabbi Lebow led the first yarzeit service at this site, where the tree was that Leo Frank was lynched and put a plaque on the site commemorating the event. There were two major outcomes of the incident. One was negative, the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. The other, more positive outcome was the formation of the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL is a perfect example of a group of people standing up for what they think is right.
50 years later, another man stood up for what he believed to be right. That man was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fighting for the Civil Rights of Blacks. We first visited his tomb and paid our respects. We walked down a block to the church where Dr. King preached, the Ebenezer Baptist Church. There we met and heard from Reverend Graham Williams who eloquently discussed with us Dr. King’s life and actions. Reverend Williams was a preacher in Atlanta for 50 years and worked with Dr. King. Following his impassioned talk with us, we walked across the street to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center. We saw a brief film about the life of Dr. King and saw exhibits on his work.
After our time at the MLK Jr. Center we drove to the Names Project. The organization collects quilts sent in form all over the world in memory of victims of AIDS. In total the project has collected 54 tons of quilts. Seeing so many quilts sewn by individuals with such care was truly moving. The workers at the Names Project spoke to us about the current AIDS situation in America and the world. They also informed us what we can do to help in the fight on AIDS.
All three of these events and groups were fighting for causes of different time periods. The early 1900s had focused on the rights of Jews and eradicating Anti-Semitism. In the 1950s and 60s Dr. King worked to erase racism and worked for the Civil Rights of all people. Since the late 1980s the fight has been made for gay rights and the fight against AIDS. This was all wonderful and interesting. We also had time just to have fun too!
Earlier in the day we visited the Coca-Cola museum. There we saw how Coke was made and advertisements from all around the world since the 1930s. We got a chance to taste different Coke products from around the world. This included Passion Fruit Fanta from New Guinea and disgusting bitter aperitif from Italy. At night after dinner we went to a football field at Billy's old high school where we could run around and play. SOme read, some sat and talked and some played ultimate frisbee. Overall it was an invigorating and interesting first day and we can’t wait for the next few weeks!

Etgar 36 sitting with the Coca Cola bears

Rabbi Lebow speaking to Etgar 36 at the site of the Leo Frank lynching

Paying our respects at the tomb of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Rev. Williams speaking to us at Ebenezer Baptist Church

Hearing about the work that the Names Project does

David Bucholtz at an AIDS quilt made by the creator of Doonesbury

Playing ultimate frisbee

ATLANTA 6.26.05

FIRST DAY!

Well it is midnight in Atlanta and the kids have been checked into their hotel rooms. The day was a great start to what will be a fantastic journey. The kids are good and tired right now.

Today was not a very eventful day, rather, a day to get to know each other and what they are about to experience.

All the kids made it to Atlanta on time and we began exactly at 4 PM..all according to plan.
They got started right away meeting each other and they are a great, fun, friendly and interesting group.

The staff ran a few ice breaker games and then we had an improv comedy troupe from Atlanta come and run some group dynamic games for them. This really got the teens working together and listening to each other. After that we had some of the best, and only, kosher Chinese food for dinner. After dinner the kids watched a movie called "The Journey", it was made by a Jewish young man who after college decided to journey across America interviewing powerful people (CEOs, politicians, entertainers, etc.) about the advice they would give the younger generation for a successful life. It is a great way to really get at the theme of the trip. I have become friends with the maker of the movie and he was supposed to come to speak with the kids but was called out of town. After the movie we spoke about the concept of going on a journey and we gave the kids journals for them to keep. We ended the night by celebrating the birthday of one of the participants with a treat made in the South..Krispy Kreme donuts!

Tomorrow looks to be a fantastic day. We are beginning the day by visiting the spot where Leo Frank, a Northern Jewish man was hung by a mob in retaliation for supposedly killing a young girl. From this case the ADL was formed and the KKK was resurrected. It has been a tremendous identifier for Southern Jews. We are being met by an attorney who won a posthumous pardon for Leo Frank. Then we are going downtown to explore the Coca Cola museum. After that we will go to the Martin Luther King Center and pay our respects at his tomb and begin to learn about his life at the King Center and Ebeanezer Baptist Church. We will end the day by going to the Names Project...the national organization responsible for the AIDS quilt. We will discuss the newest information about the war on AIDS and how it is ravaging third world countries and its impact on America.


Good night

Billy