I have always had a different song lyric for each day’s post. Today, these lyrics are the continuation of the song lyrics from yesterday. This is because today was the continuation of yesterday’s story – yesterday’s history. What an incredibly meaningful day we had today.
Up earlier than usual, we had a 90 minute drive to Selma. The weather was clear, skies were bright blue, and the sun was very, very hot. The roads were clear, and the traffic was, once again, light. We were on our way, about a half hour outside of Selma, and Rich saw a sign that said, “Interpretive Center – Selma to Montgomery”. He pulled off the road, and what a great idea he had. We happened upon the Lowndes Interpretive Center on the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. This center is part of the National Park System, and is a free, brilliant, informative center on the March on Montgomery. With artifacts and interviews and first hand accounts, the three of us learned – really learned – what things were like in Alabama in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
This Center is wonderful. I hope there are many, many people who visit and learn throughout the year. We spent a long time digesting information and listening to recordings. At the end, Rich put it perfectly: “My heart hurts.”
We made our way into Selma. In contrast with yesterday’s visit to Montgomery, Selma looks like what I thought it would look like. Selma still appears as it did many, many years ago. There are crumbling facades, worn storefronts, and abandoned buildings as well. We found Selma to be a clean city, and the people we met were very nice and friendly. There weren’t many people bustling around – but, to be fair, it was over 100 degrees outside. We started our visit at the Selma Interpretive Center, another free National Park System location. There was more to learn, and more to see and hear. We proceeded from there to the Selma Visitor’s Center. There was not much there –just a few nice people to meet. And these “Alabamans” keep saying how much they love our accent! WHAT accent?!!
We took a walk down the main street, and stopped in a few stores. It is very much “little town U.S.A.”. It is not a typical tourist town at all; Selma maintains its history with every brick in its storefronts, every cobblestone in its streets. The people with whom we spoke were kind and friendly. There are many signs and banners around town that speak of peace, freedom, and that advertise the yearly re-enactment of the crossing of the Edmund Pettus Bridge. As Rich said, the people of Selma “own” their history – and are proud of their actions.
We took a lunch break, and ate our delicious packed lunch back in our air conditioned car. Better hydrated, and inspired like crazy, we crossed over the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge. It was an out of body experience, very emotional and surreal. I kept seeing all the images we saw in the Interpretive Centers. I kept remembering the horrors that those “foot soldiers” saw as they reached the top of the bridge – saw the sea of police officers ready to stop them when they got to the other side. That day was the first attempt of the crossing, and was known as “Bloody Sunday”. It took place on March 7, 1965. Many men, women and children were injured on that day. A second attempt took place two days later, and the marchers turned back at the barricades of the state troopers. Finally, on March 21, 1965, the marchers successfully walked out of Selma, and headed toward Montgomery. They reached Montgomery on the 25th, and the crowd grew to 25,000 strong by the end of the walk. There were men, women and children. There were old and young, black men and women and white men and women, and people of all different backgrounds and beliefs. Their cause for this walk was one singular wish: They demanded the right to vote and to be able to register to vote as a person of color. I feel so privileged to have been able to walk over that bridge and back today – and to do so as a free person.
At the foot of the bridge, we went to the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute. This was our real goal today. Unfortunately, it was less than expected. The 2 centers we went to earlier in the day were brilliant, and, it must be said, air conditioned! This center, which charged a small fee, seemed to have less to show and less to say. And it was not air conditioned. We all found it hard to concentrate on the information and the exhibits. There was some interesting information, to be sure; it just wasn’t the highlight of our trip.
We stopped in a shop across the street that sold memorabilia, and met a lovely woman who told us how all these buildings were used as sets in the movie “Selma’. She herself was an extra in the movie. We made our way back over the bridge, and back to our car. The heat was really getting to us. We took a drive around the town, and saw some of the historic homes, landmarks, churches and cemeteries in Selma. On our way back “home”, we went along the same route as those marchers. We took note of the historical markers that pointed out the 4 campsites of the march – the fields along the route in which the marchers stopped and slept. I’m telling you, history came to life today.
On our way home, we discussed the fact that so much of this was never taught in our schools. This important piece of history did NOT make it info the curriculum of Clifton, Brick or even our local schools. I never learned about this March, about the horrors of the south, about Selma or Montgomery. It was not until adulthood that I became aware of these events that occurred in MY lifetime. I am bothered by this – I really am.
After a lengthy ride back, that allowed us all to think, we were back in the present. We stopped at our friend, Super Wal-Mart, and picked up some needed items. Finally, we decided to take advantage of one of the few local cuisine items that we felt we could handle: we had an order of fried pickles! Yumm!! Even Mikaela, who is very suspicious of any new food, took a tiny bite…and smiled. We split one order between the three of us, and went back to our campsite. Tomorrow we are heading north, ready for another adventure. Alabama has been a very welcoming, interesting place to be.
Our friends Lew, Andrea, and Judy all got the trivia answer correct. The designer of the fountain we saw yesterday was also responsible for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Today’s historical trivia question: A tent city “popped up” in Lowndes County in 1966, and lasted for nearly two years. This is also something I never knew about until today. Trivia question: What was the initial cause for the creation of the tent city?
I did not download the pictures from today; I only have two to share, maybe more tomorrow. Be well. And treat others with kindness.
Marla, Rich and Mikaela
Z3 Cross Country 