Martin, Museums, and Montgomery

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Maya Quote

This morning we bid adieu to New Orleans and the color and charm of the French Quarter. Driving east across Lake Ponchartrain and the bayous of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama before turning north toward Montgomery, we were reminded of the vastness of the South. It is a region the size of Europe—and how many different faces of the Southern landscape we have seen over the course of the past week.  Enroute we stopped for some brunch where some of the students had the opportunity to sample the “delicacies” of Waffle House for the first time.

Southern breakfast

We arrived in Montgomery just in time for our appointment at Dexter Church where Martin Luther King Jr. was pastor (at the tender age of 25) from 1954-1960.  The Church serves as both a museum during the week and active place of worship at the weekends.  It is a warm and friendly place, and it is always a delight to visit.  We arrived at the tail end of a rainstorm and were greeted with hugs and welcoming words from the tour guides.

Dexter group

Our last stop of the day was at the brand new Legacy Museum which is housed in the old slave warehouse and auction rooms in the center of the city.  This Museum seeks to link the history of slavery, and the racial terror of Reconstruction to the present.  The exhibits were excellent, informative and persuasive.  Victims of racially motivated crimes and systemic racism are given voice in many displays. The highly visual content provoked somber reflection.  For example, there are walls containing glass jars filled with the soil from lynching sites across the United States.
There were no photographs allowed in the museum, but we were encouraged to document our visit using a photo booth set up at the end of the tour.

 

Tomorrow, we will visit the memorial associated with the museum, before heading a little further north to BirminghamEJIam.

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