"During Pastor Laura Hollister’s April 6-19 Civil Rights tour of the Deep South, she will be posting photos, podcasts, and links for those interested in gathering more information right here. Please check the site regularly beginning on April 7, as Pastor Laura shares what she is learning.”
Pastor Laura's Agenda for Civil Rights Trip (minus driving time and sleeping time)
Alabama - late afternoon of April 9 (two-and-a-half days, three nights)
Fly from BWI to Mobile; arrive at 4 pm/get rental car
Monroeville:
Old Courthouse Museum
https://www.monroecountymuseum.org
Between Selma and Montgomery - en route to Selma:
Elmore Bolling Memorial - Historic Marker on route 80
see en route to Selma-located between Selma and Montgomery
Elmore Bolling Memorial (between Selma and Montgomery)
Story in the Montgomery Advertiser: "Elmore Bolling's Children Remember His Lynching"
https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2018/04/25/equal-justice-initiative-eji-alabama-lynchings-elmore-bolling/524675002/
Selma:
Brown Chapel AME Church
Tabernacle Baptist Church
Edmund Pettus Bridge
Montgomery:
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts - African American collections
Southern Poverty Law Center/Civil Rights Memorial
SPLC/Civil Rights Memorial:
https://www.splcenter.org/civil-rights-memorial?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3duCBhCAARIsAJeFyPX2ZUHfIYt-NztpHC6GhnXoP2hsE_l11BxLpJfwa_fB4Ba6vQdC5B0aAkoLEALw_wcB
Centennial Hill - Dexter Avenue/King Parsonage where Dr. King and his family lived (drive by)
Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church (drive by)
National Memorial for Peace and Justice
Legacy Museum
Rosa Parks Museum
Freedom Riders Museum
Court Square/Steps of State Capital
Tuskegee:
Tuskegee Airmen Historic Site
Tuskegee University
George Washington Carver Museum (not Civil Rights per se but worthwhile)
Birmingham:
Sloss Furnaces (not Civil Rights, but a National Landmark and interesting) (drive by)
Vulcan Park (not Civil Rights, but interesting) (drive by)
Bethel Baptist Church
Sixteenth Baptist Church
Kelly Ingram Park (right across the street from the Sixteenth Baptist Church)
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (by Sixteenth Baptist Church)
Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument
Dynamite Hill/Smithfield neighborhood (historic African-American neighborhood -- drive-thru)
Memphis TN - night of April 9-morning of April 12 (two days, three nights)
Memphis:
Lorraine Motel
Civil Rights Museum - https://www.civilrightsmuseum.org
Attend Worship at a local Presbyterian Church
Ida Wells Marker - https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ida-b-wells-barnett ; https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=9306
Mason Temple - site of MLK's last speech (drive by)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_Temple
Clayburn Temple
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayborn_Temple
Beale Street Historic District//Peabody Hotel Lobby (in Beale Street district - not Civil Rights, but historic)
Mississippi River Park empty pedestals where Confederate statues have been removed
Mud Island - Mississippi River Model and Museum [not Civil Rights, but interesting]
Mississippi - morning of April 13-morning of April 15 (two days, one night)
Oxford:
Ole' Miss - James Meredith Statue and Monument
Sumner:
Talahatchie County Courthouse
Emmett Till Interpretive Center (closed)
https://www.emmetttill.org/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3duCBhCAARIsAJeFyPW2gZHEuUIwdOKhPjXhNaWp4D2to_hcx6yzdv5vHaVW-XCTwKQGtpMaAvftEALw_wcB
https://www.splcenter.org/news/2020/08/28/honoring-emmett-till-65-years-after-brutal-murder-galvanized-civil-rights-movement-family?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3duCBhCAARIsAJeFyPWnwrV8lfz9ws0507Lkl3Y--oHhKXYGho58daLXNKmVPiiRXvwEG8YaAp1pEALw_wcB
Glendora:
Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center
https://glendorams.com
Ruleville:
Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial
Money:
Bryant's Grocery Store
https://placesjournal.org/article/remembering-emmett-till/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3duCBhCAARIsAJeFyPUyxB8rz2RWho2KGf-ztpR3_m3qfEnk_fT_vJ8Qowf3ob1Kvu2XbrYaAoFyEALw_wcB&cn-reloaded=1
Canton:
Freedom House Civil Rights Museum
Jackson:
Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
Tougaloo College
Louisiana - evening of April 15-morning of April 18 (two days, three nights)
Bogalusa:
Robert Hicks' house - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tghwrpEZCAk; https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/louisiana/2019/04/25/bogalusa-home-holds-legacy-deacons-defense-and-justice/3570357002/
https://www.nola.com/news/politics/article_0fb46a25-40f7-5e41-9ff9-917e9976a063.html
Baton Rouge:
Louisiana State Capitols (old and new \)
Wallace (aka Edgard):
Whitney Plantation
New Orleans: https://neworleanshistorical.org/tours/show/90
Woolworths 1031 Canal Street
William Frantz Elementary School
Treme Neighborhood (historic African American neighborhood)
5th Circuit Court of Appeals
Dooky Chase's Restaurant (historic, but not open when we could go there)
Herrman-Grima house tour - https://hgghh.org/visitor-information
Tulane University (just because)
Preservation Hall Jazz Band (not Civil Rights - but historic African American band)
https://www.preservationhall.com/about/
April 18 - April 19 - One-and-a-half days and one night. Return rental car; Take the Southern Crescent Amtrak train home (Matt and I both love trains, and fortunately, Matt was willing to pay for this!)
Alabama - late afternoon of April 9 (two-and-a-half days, three nights)
Fly from BWI to Mobile; arrive at 4 pm/get rental car
Monroeville:
Old Courthouse Museum
https://www.monroecountymuseum.org
Between Selma and Montgomery - en route to Selma:
Elmore Bolling Memorial - Historic Marker on route 80
see en route to Selma-located between Selma and Montgomery
Elmore Bolling Memorial (between Selma and Montgomery)
Story in the Montgomery Advertiser: "Elmore Bolling's Children Remember His Lynching"
https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2018/04/25/equal-justice-initiative-eji-alabama-lynchings-elmore-bolling/524675002/
Selma:
Brown Chapel AME Church
Tabernacle Baptist Church
Edmund Pettus Bridge
Montgomery:
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts - African American collections
Southern Poverty Law Center/Civil Rights Memorial
SPLC/Civil Rights Memorial:
https://www.splcenter.org/civil-rights-memorial?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3duCBhCAARIsAJeFyPX2ZUHfIYt-NztpHC6GhnXoP2hsE_l11BxLpJfwa_fB4Ba6vQdC5B0aAkoLEALw_wcB
Centennial Hill - Dexter Avenue/King Parsonage where Dr. King and his family lived (drive by)
Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church (drive by)
National Memorial for Peace and Justice
Legacy Museum
Rosa Parks Museum
Freedom Riders Museum
Court Square/Steps of State Capital
Tuskegee:
Tuskegee Airmen Historic Site
Tuskegee University
George Washington Carver Museum (not Civil Rights per se but worthwhile)
Birmingham:
Sloss Furnaces (not Civil Rights, but a National Landmark and interesting) (drive by)
Vulcan Park (not Civil Rights, but interesting) (drive by)
Bethel Baptist Church
Sixteenth Baptist Church
Kelly Ingram Park (right across the street from the Sixteenth Baptist Church)
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (by Sixteenth Baptist Church)
Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument
Dynamite Hill/Smithfield neighborhood (historic African-American neighborhood -- drive-thru)
Memphis TN - night of April 9-morning of April 12 (two days, three nights)
Memphis:
Lorraine Motel
Civil Rights Museum - https://www.civilrightsmuseum.org
Attend Worship at a local Presbyterian Church
Ida Wells Marker - https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ida-b-wells-barnett ; https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=9306
Mason Temple - site of MLK's last speech (drive by)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_Temple
Clayburn Temple
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayborn_Temple
Beale Street Historic District//Peabody Hotel Lobby (in Beale Street district - not Civil Rights, but historic)
Mississippi River Park empty pedestals where Confederate statues have been removed
Mud Island - Mississippi River Model and Museum [not Civil Rights, but interesting]
Mississippi - morning of April 13-morning of April 15 (two days, one night)
Oxford:
Ole' Miss - James Meredith Statue and Monument
Sumner:
Talahatchie County Courthouse
Emmett Till Interpretive Center (closed)
https://www.emmetttill.org/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3duCBhCAARIsAJeFyPW2gZHEuUIwdOKhPjXhNaWp4D2to_hcx6yzdv5vHaVW-XCTwKQGtpMaAvftEALw_wcB
https://www.splcenter.org/news/2020/08/28/honoring-emmett-till-65-years-after-brutal-murder-galvanized-civil-rights-movement-family?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3duCBhCAARIsAJeFyPWnwrV8lfz9ws0507Lkl3Y--oHhKXYGho58daLXNKmVPiiRXvwEG8YaAp1pEALw_wcB
Glendora:
Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center
https://glendorams.com
Ruleville:
Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial
Money:
Bryant's Grocery Store
https://placesjournal.org/article/remembering-emmett-till/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3duCBhCAARIsAJeFyPUyxB8rz2RWho2KGf-ztpR3_m3qfEnk_fT_vJ8Qowf3ob1Kvu2XbrYaAoFyEALw_wcB&cn-reloaded=1
Canton:
Freedom House Civil Rights Museum
Jackson:
Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
Tougaloo College
Louisiana - evening of April 15-morning of April 18 (two days, three nights)
Bogalusa:
Robert Hicks' house - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tghwrpEZCAk; https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/louisiana/2019/04/25/bogalusa-home-holds-legacy-deacons-defense-and-justice/3570357002/
https://www.nola.com/news/politics/article_0fb46a25-40f7-5e41-9ff9-917e9976a063.html
Baton Rouge:
Louisiana State Capitols (old and new \)
Wallace (aka Edgard):
Whitney Plantation
New Orleans: https://neworleanshistorical.org/tours/show/90
Woolworths 1031 Canal Street
William Frantz Elementary School
Treme Neighborhood (historic African American neighborhood)
5th Circuit Court of Appeals
Dooky Chase's Restaurant (historic, but not open when we could go there)
Herrman-Grima house tour - https://hgghh.org/visitor-information
Tulane University (just because)
Preservation Hall Jazz Band (not Civil Rights - but historic African American band)
https://www.preservationhall.com/about/
April 18 - April 19 - One-and-a-half days and one night. Return rental car; Take the Southern Crescent Amtrak train home (Matt and I both love trains, and fortunately, Matt was willing to pay for this!)
From Slavery to Post-Civil War Pushback to Civil Rights
Document: Montgomery and Selma
Montgomery and Selma
These two towns in Alabama are 50 miles apart and are famously connected—not only by state highway 85, but also by their respective key roles in the Civil Rights movement.
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
In fact, the national Civil Rights movement is said to have begun in Montgomery Alabama, on December 1, 1955, when 42-year-old black woman Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white man. Ms. Parks was going home from a long day at work, and when she boarded the bus she took a seat toward the back as was expected of her – because blacks were only allowed to sit in the back. However, the bus was full and when, just a block from where she’d boarded, a white man entered the bus and because the white section was full - had to stand, the bus driver moved the “Colored Only” sign four rows behind Ms. Parks’ seat, and asked Ms. Parks and three other African-Americans to give up their seats. Three of the African Americans complied, but Ms. Parks refused and was subsequently arrested. Her upstanding reputation among the black community of Montgomery and the request of a local church that Martin Luther King, Jr. come to help them led to the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott that lasted over a year, and culiminated in the 1955 decision by the Supreme Court that the Montgomery and Alabama laws segregating the buses were unconstitutional.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/rosa-parks
See Rosa Parks Photos
Tabernacle Baptist Church and the March from Selma to Montgomery
Fifty miles away, in 1965, Tabernacle Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama would become the seat of the Voting Rights movement for blacks in America. Matt and I were very, very blessed to have the first tour of the Tabernacle Baptist Church in over a year – since the pandemic began – and to be able to interview and record Dr. Verdell Letts Dawson as she shared with us the incredible role that congregational members and their pastor played in what ultimately became the “March to Montgomery” – and led to another Supreme Court decision, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Two of the many things we thought was so remarkable about Selma having become the seat of the national Voting Rights movement for blacks are these: a) the blacks in Selma were known to be particularly fearful of standing up for their rights as the whites in Selma were known to be particularly mean – and, as clear evidence of this, the so-called “Edmund Pettus bridge” over which the march began – with two failed attempts before those who were seeking to peacefully march for justice could cross to the other side – was named for a former leader of the Confederate army and local leader of the Ku Klux Klan who had very successfully kept the blacks in Selma down.
https://www.bcri.org/consortium/tabernacle-baptist-church/
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/selma-montgomery-march
https://www.selma-al.gov/edmund-pettus-bridge/
See Photos of Tabernacle Baptist Church and Photos of the Edmund Pettus Bridge
Elmore Bolling Monument
Between Selma and Montgomery, in Lowndes County – along the route of the famous march, we stopped to see the monument to Elmore Bolling – placed by the Black Historical Society of Alabama, a group which has taken great care to help Alabama come to grips with its history rather than hide it. Matt and I truly love Alabama for this, as everywhere in Alabama that we go, we see monuments, artistic renderings, museums, and organizations dedicated to helping residents and visitors alike remember and remedy the state’s cruel past.
https://www.alabamasfrontporches.org/attraction/elmore-bolling-historic-site/
https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2018/04/25/equal-justice-initiative-eji-alabama-lynchings-elmore-bolling/524675002/
In this posting I include two podcasts in my own voice: “From Slavery to Incarceration” and “The Hardships of Slavery.” In both recordings, you will hear a good bit of background noise, which could not be helped. I made these recordings from inside The Legacy Museum on Coosa Street in Montgomery – utilizing displays within the museum as source material.
These two towns in Alabama are 50 miles apart and are famously connected—not only by state highway 85, but also by their respective key roles in the Civil Rights movement.
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
In fact, the national Civil Rights movement is said to have begun in Montgomery Alabama, on December 1, 1955, when 42-year-old black woman Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white man. Ms. Parks was going home from a long day at work, and when she boarded the bus she took a seat toward the back as was expected of her – because blacks were only allowed to sit in the back. However, the bus was full and when, just a block from where she’d boarded, a white man entered the bus and because the white section was full - had to stand, the bus driver moved the “Colored Only” sign four rows behind Ms. Parks’ seat, and asked Ms. Parks and three other African-Americans to give up their seats. Three of the African Americans complied, but Ms. Parks refused and was subsequently arrested. Her upstanding reputation among the black community of Montgomery and the request of a local church that Martin Luther King, Jr. come to help them led to the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott that lasted over a year, and culiminated in the 1955 decision by the Supreme Court that the Montgomery and Alabama laws segregating the buses were unconstitutional.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/rosa-parks
See Rosa Parks Photos
Tabernacle Baptist Church and the March from Selma to Montgomery
Fifty miles away, in 1965, Tabernacle Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama would become the seat of the Voting Rights movement for blacks in America. Matt and I were very, very blessed to have the first tour of the Tabernacle Baptist Church in over a year – since the pandemic began – and to be able to interview and record Dr. Verdell Letts Dawson as she shared with us the incredible role that congregational members and their pastor played in what ultimately became the “March to Montgomery” – and led to another Supreme Court decision, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Two of the many things we thought was so remarkable about Selma having become the seat of the national Voting Rights movement for blacks are these: a) the blacks in Selma were known to be particularly fearful of standing up for their rights as the whites in Selma were known to be particularly mean – and, as clear evidence of this, the so-called “Edmund Pettus bridge” over which the march began – with two failed attempts before those who were seeking to peacefully march for justice could cross to the other side – was named for a former leader of the Confederate army and local leader of the Ku Klux Klan who had very successfully kept the blacks in Selma down.
https://www.bcri.org/consortium/tabernacle-baptist-church/
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/selma-montgomery-march
https://www.selma-al.gov/edmund-pettus-bridge/
See Photos of Tabernacle Baptist Church and Photos of the Edmund Pettus Bridge
Elmore Bolling Monument
Between Selma and Montgomery, in Lowndes County – along the route of the famous march, we stopped to see the monument to Elmore Bolling – placed by the Black Historical Society of Alabama, a group which has taken great care to help Alabama come to grips with its history rather than hide it. Matt and I truly love Alabama for this, as everywhere in Alabama that we go, we see monuments, artistic renderings, museums, and organizations dedicated to helping residents and visitors alike remember and remedy the state’s cruel past.
https://www.alabamasfrontporches.org/attraction/elmore-bolling-historic-site/
https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2018/04/25/equal-justice-initiative-eji-alabama-lynchings-elmore-bolling/524675002/
In this posting I include two podcasts in my own voice: “From Slavery to Incarceration” and “The Hardships of Slavery.” In both recordings, you will hear a good bit of background noise, which could not be helped. I made these recordings from inside The Legacy Museum on Coosa Street in Montgomery – utilizing displays within the museum as source material.
Podcast: From Slavery to Mass Incarceration |
Podcast: The Hardships of Slavery |
Photos: Rosa Parks Monument |
Click on the pictures to see them in full size
|
Podcast: Tabernacle Baptist Interview |
|
Tabernacle Baptist photos |
Click on the pictures to see them in full size
|
Edmund Pettus Bridge photos |
Click on the pictures to display
|
Elmore Bolling Monument photos |
Click on the pictures to display
|
Three Great Alabama Museums Devoted to Civil Rights
Two Podcasts
National Memorial for Peace and Justice
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Key Churches
Links for More Information Re: Museums Visited 4/7-4/9
More Information Re: Sites Visited April 7-9, and Some Results of the Fight for Civil Rights
Daughter of Elmore Bolling – It’s Time to Face Our Past
https://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-father-lynched-1947-time-us-acknowledge-sinful/story?id=71353467
Montgomery [Alabama] Bus Boycott – Supreme Court Decision
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/montgomery-bus-boycott
Birmingham [Alabama] for Equal Access to Employment – Civil Rights Act of 1964
http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/civil-rights-movement-birmingham-campaign/
Selma [Alabama] Fight for Voting Rights – Voting Rights Act of 1965
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/selma-montgomery-march
The Three Museums:
Legacy Museum on Coos Street in Montgomery, AL – click on Museum
https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/museum
National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL – click on Memorial
https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/museum
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
https://www.bcri.org
Daughter of Elmore Bolling – It’s Time to Face Our Past
https://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-father-lynched-1947-time-us-acknowledge-sinful/story?id=71353467
Montgomery [Alabama] Bus Boycott – Supreme Court Decision
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/montgomery-bus-boycott
Birmingham [Alabama] for Equal Access to Employment – Civil Rights Act of 1964
http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/civil-rights-movement-birmingham-campaign/
Selma [Alabama] Fight for Voting Rights – Voting Rights Act of 1965
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/selma-montgomery-march
The Three Museums:
Legacy Museum on Coos Street in Montgomery, AL – click on Museum
https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/museum
National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL – click on Memorial
https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/museum
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
https://www.bcri.org