Friday, Saturday and Sydney: The Final Push

Friday

We negotiated the last of our early morning flights in reasonable style this morning, grabbing what rest we could during the five hours between Atlanta and San Francisco, only to find that was still only 9:30am when we landed. This gave us opportunity to lunch at leisure before heading across to Alcatraz Island for our 2pm Tour. Or so we thought. 

Two things stood between us and a leisurely lunch - the first was the vast distance between San Fran airport and downtown. This negotiated by airport shuttle, I arrived to pick up our Alcatraz tickets only to be informed that we were short a chaperone - the Island has a strict ratio of 1:7 adults and students, whereas we are operating at 1:8 and a bit. After contemplating some highly inconvenient solutions with the sympathetic but unbending ticket office person, I called the local company who had organised our tickets. Fortunately, they took responsibility for the muck up and sent down an employee of theirs to be the necessary 4th chaperone. So we welcomed Edson to our group for the afternoon tour. Lunch was cut short whilst we resolved the issue, but the tour went on.

Alcatraz has over a million tourists visit each year, if the publicity is to be believed, and we enjoyed an excellent tour of the cell block area and video about the different aspects of the island's history. The weather in San Fran was as beautiful as it has been the whole rest of the tour, giving great views of the cityscape and the Golden Gate bridge, as well as the Island itself.

After this, we caught the ferry back and made our way through Fisherman's Wharf, enjoying some excellent food before returning to our hostel for our last night in the USA.

Saturday
The second bike tour proved the more challenging of the two, as San Francisco is considerably more hilly than central DC. The prospect of all that biking was a bit much for some, as tiredness and illness meant a few people stayed back at the hostel.

For those that went there was a brisk bike out to the Golden Gate Bridge. That was enough for most of the group, but Mrs Drayton took a hardy and enthusiastic few up across the bridge itself.



In the meantime, the rest of us made our way into central San Fran for the last major shopping opportunity before departing the USA. Our progress into town was dented somewhat by the major Earth Day pro-Science protest march that involved many thousands from the Bay Area and blocked Market Street completely.



This frustrated some of our shoppers as we were forced into the Subway to make progress (the cleanest and nicest we've come across), whilst others enjoyed the spectacle and the noise of the crowds - a great example of non-violent protest in action!

 Suffice to say the students made the most of their shopping time and there were several extra bags purchased and filled for the flight home. We made it back to the hostel just in time to catch our shuttles to the airport for the last major flight.

As I write, we are relaxing in Sydney airport prior to final departure to NZ. The opportunity was there to go into central Sydney for a bit, but the students decided against it, with tiredness a big factor for most. Fortunately Terminal 1 has been recently done up and so has provided a comfortable and spacious area for the group to rest.

With our adventures coming to an end, there is so much to reflect on, but perhaps I'll leave that until we've had a few good sleeps. I would like to briefly pay tribute to the students for their exemplary attitude: the ways that they have embraced challenges and responded positively to the new environments and learning they have encountered. They have made good impressions wherever they have traveled, with one of the Qantas flight attendants making a point of stopping by our group after landing in Sydney to say how impressed he was with the behaviour and the manners of the students.

I would also like to offer a huge thanks to Mrs Drayton and Mrs McDonald for their energy and care for the students throughout the trip. And finally, thanks to the parents and families who made this possible financially and entrusted us with the care of your daughters. I hope that the trip will leave fantastic, enduring memories for the students who took part and that once they have had a good sleep, they will be ready to share some of them with you!

 

Wednesday and Thursday: Selma, Birmingham and (briefly) Atlanta again

Wednesday
Selma is a town of contradictions.

A small population (comparable to Ashburton) sprawling over a considerable land area. Everything seems very spread out and walking anywhere is tricky. Fortunately, we have Warren and his bus.

A town famed for a Civil Rights breakthrough that is today almost entirely segregated.

West Selma is the leafy, white suburbs and schools. East Selma contains the African-Americans and the shotgun shacks:

Confederate flags still festoon the graves at the local cemetery:

A War monument lists the white soldiers lost separately to the 'coloured':

The local Country Club's membership is still only open to whites and has recently taken steps to prevent the black nannies supervising the white kids in their swimming pool. Because? Well, you know, tradition.

There was a brief breakthrough when Selma High School was integrated in 1970, but the phenomenon of 'White Flight' took hold soon afterwards, with the creation of new private schools eventually reversing the process. You can read the full story here.

In this atmosphere of de facto segregation, it's heartening to know that groups like 'New Way' exist. We meet three of their educators this morning (L-R below: Jarah, Ronald and Barak), who led us through a non-violence workshop, teaching us about ways of building community and encouraging reconciliation.

This was a very interactive workshop, encouraging us to start by thinking about ourselves as a community. So there were some sharing times:

After lunch at the local College cafeteria (where the workshop was hosted) we took a bus tour of Selma, from whence the above facts and photos come.



Some of us also made a pilgrimage over the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge (if you haven't seen the movie Selma, you really must - it gives you vital context for all this), whilst others were put off by a swarm of bees around the mid-point of the crossing - health and safety first.

Discussion as to whether the bee swarm is to be taken on or not.

Following the bridge, we farewelled our wonderful guides and Selma, travelling one and a half hours north to the city of Birmingham. We will be checking out the history tomorrow, but satisfied ourselves tonight with a last taste of Southern Soul Food at local landmark John's City Diner.  And celebrated Jess' birthday!

Thursday
Waking up in Birmingham, we packed our bags on the bus and headed for the most significant part of town, historically-speaking: the intersection of 16th Street and 6th Avenue. This was the site of arguably the most successful Civil Rights protest in US History, the Children's March during the 1963 Birmingham Campaign. It was here that the fire hoses and police dogs were set on the mainly school aged protestors, causing a media storm that travelled around the world, prompted President JFK to propose a Civil Rights Bill to Congress that would outlaw segregation in the USA.

A photo of the Children's March at Birmingham 

Kelly Ingram Park was the location of the protests - this is marked by some statues commemorating the events of the protests.

Sadly the backlash that followed the success of the Birmingham Campaign also led to the KKK bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, which had been the central hub of the protests. This action took the lives of four girls aged 11-14. We were given a guided tour of the church and learned the story of the girls and the community's response to the tragedy.  

 A fantastic stained glass window donated to the church by a Welsh(!) group.

Also on that same corner is the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, which summarises beautifully not just the events at Birmingham but the key events through the peak Civil Rights era of the 1950s and 60s and beyond. This seemed a really fitting way to end the Alabama leg of the Tour.

Stopping afterwards briefly for lunch at a shiny new food hall downtown (the Pizitz, opened Feb 2017), we were headed out of town and back to Atlanta and the Braves ballgame. This was a really fun experience for the group. Baseball is not everyone's cup of tea and this wasn't the greatest game, but the vibe of the stadium was great and we appreciated the various attempts to keep us entertained during the almost 3 hours of game time. Sadly, the Braves were beaten 3-2 and we had a very late night prior to a early Friday morning flight to San Fran, but the girls remain impressively hardy and high-spirited.

 



 

Monday and Tuesday: Montgomery, Alabama

Monday
Monday began with a short walk to the Rosa Parks Museum, which featured a creative and compelling reconstruction of the events leading up to the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955, the first successful protest of the 50s and 60s Civil Rights Era. The Bus Boycott saw the emergence of Martin Luther King onto the national stage for the first time, but this museum was built to honour the courage of Mrs Parks, whose refusal to move from her seat and subsequent arrest became the spark for the 12 month Bus Boycott which lead to desegregation of the buses in cities throughout the South.

Unfortunately, photos of the exhibits weren't allowed, but this museum comes highly recommended to anyone who is interested in Civil Rights History.

We consoled ourselves about the lack of photos with a group shot around the bust of Rosa.

The Museum is positioned right beside the bus stop where Rosa made her historic stand.

And just opposite: the Davis Theatre, awkwardly named 

after the leader of the Confederates in the Civil War. 

And just down the road from the site of a former slave auction on 

'Commerce St'. Montgomery was a key centre in the old slave trade. 

And a little further down the road from where the telegram 

was sent to order the first attacks of the US Civil War. 

So there's quite a bit of crucial US history within about a minutes walk.

After getting some lunch and exploring downtown Montgomery (which was very quiet on Easter Monday), we rendezvoused at The Southern Poverty Law Centre. There we heard the stories of some of the martyrs of the Civil Rights Movement, as well as the ongoing work of the SPLC in championing Civil and Human Rights causes and opposing the actions of hate groups. This is dangerous work and the Centre is regularly threatened with violence, so security was tight.

 Our guide points to key images and events from the Movement.

We added our names to the 'Pledge Wall', signifying commitment 

to living justly and with respect for human rights. 

Outside the SPLC there is a water feature tribute to those who 

lost their lives during the struggle for Civil Rights. 

Then after a bit of rest at the hotel, we enjoyed an Italian meal out together, which we neglected to take photos of (too busy eating). But we did conclude the evening with a walk down to the very pleasant Riverfront area, which featured a genuine steamboat.

Tuesday
We were met this morning at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church by the wonderful Wanda Battle, the most irrepressible Tour Guide we've come across so far. Her warmth and enthusiasm drew instant Peg comparisons from the girls as she led us around the church where Martin Luther King pastored for 5 years. Stories about the history of the place were interspersed with group renditions of This Little Light of Mine, We Shall Overcome and various snippets of important events and speeches.

 The interior of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

Wanda and Georgia H sharing a moment.

 Outside with Wanda.

Then there was time for a short stop outside the parsonage in Montgomery when Dr King lived. Here in early 1956 he had what is described as his 'epiphany' (read about this here). The house was subsequently bombed by the local KKK, an incident which caused no serious injury, but blew half the front porch off.

After that it was time to bid farewell to Montgomery and its rich history and westward towards Selma. On the way, we stopped at Lownes County Interpretative Centre, which is devoted to telling the story of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March for Voting Rights that is also the subject of the movie Selma.

A display commemorating the marchers, who marched 200 miles (320km) in four days.

The Capitol Building in Montgomery, where the Selma to Montgomery March ended. 

After a bit of downtime at the hotel, we headed out for Mexican food at a wonderful restaurant called Mi Tenampa.





 
 

Saturday and Sunday: Atlanta

Saturday
Our flight down to Atlanta brought us into the world's busiest airport mid-morning. We were taken into the Downtown area and dropped off at our the very nice Fairfield Hotel, which was a nice step up in comfort after the Youth Hostels.

Walking around Downtown Atlanta

We had a few hours prior to the scheduled tour of the CNN Headquarters, which were mainly spent relaxing in the Olympic Centennial Park, a large public space which was created for Atlanta's hosting of the 1996 Olympics as part of the revitalisation of the Downtown area, which had fallen into decline prior to that.

Just walking around was an interesting experience culturally, as Downtown Atlanta is a majority African-American area (white folk tend to live in the leafier areas in the north of the city), and we encountered a couple of fiery Malcolm X-style street preachers. Their words were exceptions to the rule and Southern hospitality was a feature of our time in Atlanta. It wasn't unusual to hear the students reporting: "Everyone is so nice here!".

The local kids love the fountains at the Olympic Park

Then it was time for the CNN Tour for most, although some of the girls were too tired and ill to attend this, so went back to the hotel with me to check in and rest. Those who went were shown around the CNN studios, getting a behind the scenes look at how the first 24 news network functions.

Sunday
On Sunday morning we were picked up by our bus driver Warren, who will be with us for the mini-tour of the three Alabama towns of Montgomery, Selma and Birmingham. We have large, comfortable bus, which dropped us off in time for the 10:35am service at Ebenezer Baptist Church. EBC was Martin Luther King's home church and it proudly continues his work in the community, preaching a message of peace, love and justice. The service had an incredible sense of vitality and togetherness - inevitably some said: "We have to make Chapel more like this!" We were also impressed with the special Easter Sunday dress - from the little boys in waistcoats and bow ties to the woman sporting the largest hat I have ever seen. All were wonderfully welcoming and friendly to us as visitors.

 Inside EBC prior to the service.

 Outside the church afterwards.

After the service, we crossed the road to visit the historic Ebenezer Baptist, where Martin Luther King preached, but which has since become too small for the modern EBC congregation. We sat for a couple of minutes in silence in the old wooden pews, listening to a tape of a sermon from Dr King. Next door is the tomb of Dr King and his wife Coretta, where we stopped briefly to pay our respects.

 The historic EBC, directly across the road. 

Quiet contemplation inside the old EBC.  

 At the tomb of Dr and Mrs King

Warren arrived to drive us out of Atlanta and over the state line into Alabama. Confusingly, this action set our clocks back an hour. This evening we got established in our Montgomery hotel, before heading out for dinner together to the nearby restaurant area.

Our hotel has a great deal of old Southern charm.