It was an incredible day and definitely one of my favorites.
After a morning of logistics, we all hopped on a charter bus and headed straight to Birmingham and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
I snapped this photo in the atrium, and would have taken a clearer photo but the guard asked me not to take pictures. I think I had assumed that the previous warning/request against cameras was meant for only when inside the museum gallery itself, but I guess not. Whoops.
The quote reads:
"I like to believe
that the negative extremes of Birmingham's past
will resolve into the positive and utopian extreme of her future;
that the sins of a dark yesterday will
be redeemed in the achievements of a bright tomorrow."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
It was a powerful museum.
I was so moved by the experience that I haven't really been able to articulate my feelings about it yet. All I can say is that I am extremely grateful to TFA for making sure we saw the Civil Rights Institute while at Induction.
It is a museum that needs to be seen by every single person in the United States, because I honestly believe that there is no way someone can walk through the museum's exhibits without being moved -- both with overwhelming shame and sadness for our nation's past, but also with a sense of awe/appreciation/respect for the strength of will and character of those who fought against the disgusting laws of segregation.
It'll take me a while to process the museum. Until then, please write the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute down as one of the places you must see during your lifetime. It is incredible.
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| The 16th Street Baptist Church, which was right across the street from the Civil Rights Institute. |
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