A brief tour of civil rights history in Montgomery, Alabama — To whoever is not listening to the sea

We took a day trip to Montgomery, AL to visit some of the key sites of the civil rights movement. We were hoping for inspiration and guidance for uncertain times. We got it! Our trip also made us realize how ignorant we are of these important events and people in our nation's history...we left committed to learn more.

Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church

Originally known as the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, this church was built in 1883 just a few blocks from the first White House of the Confederacy. The congregation bought the land for some $200 and used discarded bricks to build it. In 1951, the congregation was looking for a new pastor and found it in a 25-year-old Martin Luther King, Jr, who had just finished his studies in the seminary and was completing his doctorate at Boston College. He was the church pastor until 1960, when he return to Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where his father was pastor.

In the basement of the church, the Montgomery Bus Boycott was organized after Rosa Parks instigated it through her refusal to give up her seat to a white patron.

If you take the tour, you'll get to sit in that basement. You also visit Dr. King's office and get to say a few words from a lectern he used to deliver some of his famous speeches. It's not the physical objects or historical facts offered on the tour that you'll remember, though. The tour inspires through the way it is led. Wanda, our guide, had us introduce ourselves to one another countless times, and ended the tour with everyone joining hands singing "We Shall Overcome" and hugging "one person you did not come in here with." No one resisted...as it turns out love offered without reservation and with a generous heart is hard to resist.

Tours are offered on the hour from 10-1 pm, except on Sundays. The church is still an active house of worship. Cost: $7.50.

Civil Rights Memorial Center

The Civil Rights Memorial honors 40 individuals who gave their lives during the Civil Rights Movement. It was developed by the Southern Poverty Law Center after lawyers there realized how many of these people were being forgotten. It was designed by Maya Lin, who is perhaps most famous for her design of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC.

Inside the center ($2 fee to enter) you can learn more about each of these individuals, a surprising number of whom were children. You can also learn a little bit about the work of the SPLC, perhaps best known today for its "hate watch" effort, which monitors the activities of nearly 900 active hate groups throughout the US.

Some of the young men & women who lost their lives during the civil rights movement.

You also have the opportunity to add your name to the Wall of Tolerance. In doing so you take the following pledge: "I pledge to stand against hate, injustice, and intolerance. I will work in my daily life for justice, equality and human rights — the ideas for which the Civil Rights martyrs died."

Freedom Rides Museum

This museum is in the Greyhound bus station where the Freedom Riders, a mixed-race group of activists, were badly beaten by a mob (while police looked on) during their journey to New Orleans from Washington DC in 1961. The Freedom Riders took action because federal law related to the integration of interstate transportation was being violated in the south where local segregation ordinances were enforced.

Greyhound bus station where the Freedom Riders were attacked by a white mob.

Although they were the victims of violence on more than a few occasions, the Freedom Riders continued throughout the summer of 1961, until integration laws were effectively enforced throughout the US. "White" and "colored" signs at entrances and for seating were removed from bus and train stations, and lunch counters therein served all regardless of race.

We were surprised by the fact that the Freedom Riders were almost all in their late teens or early 20's. They all were trained in non-violent resistance before setting out and persisted in the rides despite being called "unpatriotic" by the Kennedy administration. There persistence is credited with putting pressure on then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to act.

The Freedom Riders who arrived in Montgomery were almost all in their late teens or early twenties.

The museum is open Tuesday - Saturday. It also offers an exhibit outside the building, which is accessible 24 hrs a day.

Other Sites of Interest

Montgomery also has a Rosa Parks Museum, including a children's room, as well as many other sites. All of them are part of the Alabama Civil Rights Trail, which also includes exhibits and interpretive centers along the 50-mile march route from Selma to Montgomery taken in 1965 in support of the Voting Rights Act.

Note: If you do visit Montgomery on a weekend, take note that many of these locations close in early to mid-afternoon on Saturday and most are NOT open on Sunday!