Day 2 Georgia

Today was the second day of our Civil Rights Journey around the South.  Yesterday we had a lot of fun climbing up Stone Mountain. Today, we left the hotel at 8:30 to board the bus. We then started the 2 hour bus ride to Montgomery, Alabama.  When we arrived, we started our day with the Rosa Parks Museum. The museum was very thorough in the telling of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott story.  We watched educational videos and read about the Montgomery Improvement Association and all of the work they did in this movement.  We had a very informative guide.  After the museum we ate pizza at the Mellow Mushroom, a funky cafe just around the corner from the museum.  After our delicious lunch, we walked up tie the Montgomery Greyhound bus station, which is now a museum dedicated to the Freedom Riders.  The museum is located inside the surviving part of the old station.  We learned that the Freedom Riders were a group of integrated people who rode on segregated buses, protesting interstate transport segregation.  We learned a lot of cool facts like how the youngest person arrested in the movement was 13 years old.  After our tour, we walked down Dexter Avenue to the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.  This was where we met Miss Wanda. She gave us the most amazing tour of the church where MLK, Jr. led bus boycott and preached. She gave us each amazing advice, sang with us, and encouraged each of us to love ourselves and the gifts we have been given.  For me, this was the event today that had the most impact.  She was very open with us and shared her hard past. I love music and so when she said she would sing, even if she was sad or happy, it struck a chord with me.  Emet and I were both encouraged by our classmates to show our musical abilities and once again this showed me how close our middle school had become over the course of this year and how we are all being so supportive on this trip so far.  After our tour and hugs from Ms. Wanda, we walked over to the Civil Rights Memorial at the Southern Poverty Law Center. This museum held a lot of impactful stories of lives lost from this movement.  My favorite part of this stop was at the end we all signed our names promising to try our best to eliminate injustice in our lives.  Then we all walked outside and put our hands on the civil rights memorial, designed by Maya Lin. It was really a beautiful moment.  Then we walked up the steps of the Alabama capitol and reflected upon everything we had done during the day.  We wrote in our journals. After that we drove to Jim 'n Nicks Barbeque, an authentic southern restaurant. The food was delicious. Then we went back to the hotel and swam in the pool.
We had an amazing day and everything we did was very, very powerful.  This trip has been an amazing experience and learning opportunity.  We are only two days into this trip and I've learned so much from my peers, the experts we talked to, and my teachers.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this trip and all it has offered me. I am excited to learn as much as I can and be fully immersed in the Civil Rights Movement.