Today, at The Birmingham Civil Rights Museum, it was surreal to see actual Civil Rights Movement artifacts such as segregated water fountains, Jim Crow era buses, and the bars taken from the cell that Martin Luther King Jr. stayed in when he wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Then, we had a moving experience at the 16th Street Baptist Church, where we saw the exact location where Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins unjustly lost their lives; it was extremely challenging to walk through a place where such a tragedy took place. Finally, we ended the day on a lighter note by visiting the statue of Brother Bryan, a pastor known for his commitment to civil rights and helping the poor community in Alabama, and the great-great-grandfather of our classmate Sarah DuBard. It was cool to be taught by a peer about someone from history whom they had a connection with.
