Selma - Kelley's Group

Wednesday started out with us being able to experience yet another piece of history by visiting the Greyhound bus station that the freedom riders were attacked at once they reached Birmingham. Being able to stand in the exact same spot where such turmoil and oppression is a feeling that I dont think any of us will ever forget. The freedom riders and everyone else of the time period sacrificed a lot just to gain right that are supposed "natural" rights of human beings. It really kills me that a lot of people take everything that they have today for granted by not taking advantage of their right to vote or to go on to earn a higher education.
The trip to Selma was by far the most moving of the trip though. I will start with the end of the 3-part trip to the museum which consisted of a tour of the city of Selma. We were able to visit the Brown Chapel which played a pivotal role during the Civil Rights movement by being a central meeting place and just a safe haven. Its location made this possible due to the fact that it is right in the middle of housing projects where many African Americans lived not only back then, but today as well.
We also visited the Emdund Pettus Bridge, which leads from Selma to Montgomery and is the bridge that many blacks were beaten on Bloody Sunday when they attempted to cross the bridge, where they were doing a non-violent protest in the form of a march. Being able to cross the bridge and retrace their footsteps made everyone feel like a they were reliving a piece of history.
The emotional high point of the entire trip though was the simulation in which we participated in, in which we were placed in the same predicament as our ancestors. They took us away from our familiar surroundings, separated, and then forced to make decisions on whether someone else lives or dies. It was truly an unimaginable experience that will provide a lasting experience for anyone who goes through it. The end of the simulation consisted of an elderly woman looking for her long lost child, which was taken away from her at birth. The saddest part of this situation though is the fact that the mother and daughter probably wouldnt even recognize each other, simply because they never had any contact with each other outside of birth. This was the harsh reality for many slave mothers during the time period. These same women would also be forced to have babies fathered by their slave masters. This is something that no matter how powerful the simulation is, that you can just never truly understand due to the fact that in the back of your mind you always know that it is a simulation. But for the slaved and segregated this was there reality for hundreds of years. All this treatment, due simply to the color of their skin.

Drake Alford