Freedom Ride 2008

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Wednesday, March 26^th:

      We departed La Crosse, WI at 4:00pm and started on our way to Nashville, Tennessee.  Everyone introduced themselves on the bus and got to know each other a little better.  Then we watched the movie, “A Civil Rights Journey,” by Sonnie Hereford, a Huntsville, AL physician whose son was the first to be integrated into a white Alabama school.

• it was 2 different worlds in the south
• Huntsville, AL civil rights movement
• Blacks could not get a medical or law degree
• As 1960’s approached, black leaders were demanding a change
• CRM began in Huntsville with sit-ins
• 180 days, hard labor, $100 fines
• Randolph Blackwell organized nation’s first sit-in
• Picketing/poster walk began à most were non-violent
• Would have a lady call stores to see what owners’ views were on hiring blacks
• Mostly students carried on demonstrations
• Customers at lunch counters would attack demonstrators
• When arrested, many students would use bail bondsàadults both Black and White would give money for bail bonds
• There was no help from the city for the protesters
• Fear from outsideàmayor set up a biracial committee but the 2 blacks were not demonstrators
• MLK Jr came to Huntsville, he spoke in the church to a huge church as well at Oakwood University
• The mayor then got 2 CR leaders on the committee but no white people wanted to serve on it
• A dentist’s wife and 3 month old baby, a pregnant Dr.’s wife and a students went to a lunch counter…they were arrested and made national news
• Then the mayor found 2 whites to work on the committee but merchants lost $1 million that Easter
• One mother’s day the parks became desegregated
• Armed Forces day…George Wallace came to Huntsville
• Getting an education for Blacks was hard
• Schools in Huntsville began to be integrated by court order
• Governor sent troops to keep the blacks out of the schools
• Before the Birmingham Riots and the CR Act, Huntsville became desegregated without residence

We also sang songs, including Soon and very Soon several times

Later we watched another movie called “Mighty Times: The Children’s March.”

• This was a film about the children and young adults of Birmingham who sacrificed jail time day after day fighting for Civil Rights.

We continued on driving through the night until we arrived at Tennessee State University at 6:00am.  We ate a hearty breakfast at the TSU downtown Avon Williams Campus and listened to a speaker.

• Kwame Leo Lillard drove Freedom riders and picked them up on the border of Tennessee and Alabama when Bull Conner (Chief of police of Birmingham) sent them back. 
• We were then introduced to two freedom riders Mary-Jean and Allan who were reunited last September for the first time since their ride.
• Dolorse gave a history of the building which was named after Avon Williams an attorney who helped blacks during the civil rights movement during the 50’s/60’s.

Then we had a tour of downtown Nashville.

·        Walgreen’s was 1 of 3 places where the first sit-ins in Nashville took place…it is the only building that it still the same company

·        Most demonstrators came from TSU (Freedom riders…etc.)

·        The Nashville movement is considered one of the most disciplined and organized movements

·        Jean Smith was in Nashville sit-ins as well as freedom rides

·        Allan and Edda were Freedom Riders and participated in sit-ins and stand-ins

·        Kwame Lillard trained people to go on freedom rides

·        Paramount theater then Walgreen’s were both integrated

·        No pressure to go on a Freedom Ride

·        We saw many sites where segregation took place, such as:

-Alleys: blacks had to use the “restroom” because they were not permitted anywhere else nearby.—most people had to relieve themselves in whatever they could find – a box, bush, can or just a spot along the wall

- The Movie Theatre: “Stand-In’s” took place (blacks protesting for the desegregation of theatres).  They would wait in line until denied tickets and moved to the back of the line so whites could not purchase them either.

- Harvey’s department store was the last Department store in Nashville to integrate fitting rooms.

·        Walked to State Capitol building with Kwame and learned about the first Silent March protest which took place on April 19, 1960 after the bombing of the home of Alexander Looby, black councilman and brilliant lawyer who represented the Freedom Riders and sit-in participants.

At the State Capital we were introduced to the State Senate as a delegation (on the state senate floor [well]), and were introduced there.  Both Kwame and Bob spoke to the Senate delegation.  We then went to the Nashville Public Library.  We got a tour of the library, and spoke with people about their thoughts on Civil Rights.  In the library there was a special room and a whole wing dedicated to the Civil Rights Movement.

After the library we went to Moses McKissack Professional Development Middle School and performed several social action theater skits.  The students really seemed to enjoy them.  They asked good questions and got really into it.

Then we went to Fisk University to have box lunches in Jubilee Hall, and to listen to a CRM historian.

• Nashville Movement did not begin in the 1960’s, it is a continuous movement.  It began back in Africa when Africans resisted being slaves.
• The abolitionist movement could be the beginning of a modern CRM’s
• Early 1900’s there were street car boycotts
• September 9^th, 1957-Nashville was based on custom, not by law
• Movements were conducted all over the nationànot just the south, race is a national problem!

After Fisk University we went to Meharry Medical College.

• Started with 1 building
• One of the first people to found it was Samuel Meharry, who was a white man that wanted to pay back black people in return for generosity that was shown to him once before when he was lost in the city.
• Associated with being Methodist
• Started helping the poor and underprivileged and still isàa significant amount of research is done on diseases that tend to affect minorities more than others
• Meharry College is a professional school, but not an undergraduate degree school
• Is more than just a medical school (School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, School Oral Studies, School Allied Health Professionals)
• These physicians gave medical help to the students in Nashville who went on the Freedom Rides and sit-ins

We then went back to Tennessee State University to listen to another historian.

·        Civil Rights Movement goes back to the Civil War

·        Tennessee was 40% of black troops in union army and 20% of all union army

·        Also, Africans who jumped off boat during slave trade

·        Winter, 1959 CRM started

·        Nov. 1959, students got tired of practicing sit-ins

·        Feb 1^st, Greensborough first spontaneous sit-in

·        Feb. 13^th, 1960 sit-in

·        Mar. 10^th, 1960, Nashville became the first integrated city

·        19 Jim Crowe states…not all in south

·        May 17^th, 1961, start of freedom rides by core congress of racial equality

Our last college we went to was American Baptist College.

·        We all sat in a circle facing each other, which gave an open atmosphere feel in the room.

·        Two seniors spoke about becoming the best person you can be in order to help others.

·        Ms. Janet Wolf, a civil rights historian, also gave us another perspective of the civil rights movements.

·        And the president spoke to us as well.  Bob, Kwame, and Delorse gave a joint last talk before we left Nashville.

Afterwards, we continued on our way down to Huntsville, Alabama.  We arrived to Oakwood University at about 7:00pm and had dinner there.

• 1896 open with 16 students
• The name changed over time from Oakwood Industrial School, Oakwood Instructional School, Oakwood Jr. College, Oakwood Sr. College…then finally, Jan 1^st, 2008, Oakwood University
• Before the civil war, it was illegal to teach blacks to read and write.
• A slave started Oakwood after civil war, graduating class was 500.
• 1932 the students stopped attending classes on strike in desire of the college hiring black faculty, and it worked.

Sonnie Hereford:

• His school was surrounded by the city dump
• No science labs, or library, or gym, or cafeteria
• The schools were all very run down
• Lived 6 miles away from school
• Sonny’s son was the first child to integrate Alabama schools

• Hank Thomas was another original Freedom Rider
• He organized first sit-in
• If there were marches you went to jail, but one was able to picket sign
• Asked mayor to integrate lunch counters, restrooms and drinking fountains…the mayor said no
• Then they decided to picket and that lead to boycotting

Easter Boycott:

• Bank borrowed moneyàbought stock/merchandiseàboycottàmerchant loses moneyàintegration
• Integration was to start on July 11
• Newspaper said trial integration would be July 9-11 to see if it would work
• Kept day of integration secret and lunch counters become integrated
• The moved onto desegregating the schools

After the last speaker, we traveled a few miles to the La Quinta Inn in Huntsville.  Generally four people/room.  Arrived at 10 and went to bed early.

Friday, March 28^th, 2008:

We got an early start and departed for Birmingham, AL at 7am.  We arrived at a predominantly black high school to perform SAT skits.  We were detained in a room for an hour and a half for an unknown reason.  After waiting, we went to the auditorium and performed two skits.  Also, when the skits were over we all sang “Soon and Very Soon” with the students.  After reloading the bus, the principal got on to make an announcement.  She informed that we were kept in the room because the school went on a last minute lock down.  Bob told us that a bullet was found in a student’s backpack and a potential gun was being searched for.  It seemed like a lot of us were surprised by that, because most of us come from places where we would not face this kind of issue.

Next, we went to a K-8 Academy School and performed 5 skits.  All the students were very enthusiastic and eager to ask questions.  When student involvement with the skits took place, almost all wanted to participate.  Those who did did a great job and really understood our purpose.  The Academy was gracious enough to provide us with lunch there.

Next, we went to the 16^th Street Baptist Church and spoke with Birmingham historian Dr. Bob Corley.  He told us about his life growing up in a privileged white family in Birmingham and a story about his old house maid. The 16^th Street Baptist Church is where a bomb went off in 1963 killing 4 young girls, Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Addie Mae Collins, and injuring many others.  It was also the place where the teens congregated prior to being imprisoned during the Civil Rights Movement.

Then, Reverend Anthony Smith surprised us by taking us to an IMAX movie at the Birmingham Science Museum.  We watched a movie on the largest IMAX screen in the country about ancient Pharaoh History.  After the movie, and the closing time of the museum, the museum allowed us to order pizza and eat it upstairs.  After dinner we all headed back to the hotel and relaxed for the long day tomorrow that waited for us.

Saturday, March 29^th, 2008:

We loaded the bus at 7:30am and went to the old New Pilgrim Baptist Church to start our historic march, the first CRM march since 1963 when Martin Luther King was jailed and wrote his famous letter from a Birmingham jail.  There were three TV stations, newscasters, newspaper, and police waiting for us.  There were more than 200 participants marching down the streets of Birmingham singing inspirational songs together.  We marched two-by-two to Memorial Park.  Marches used to go to the park as well.  The police station was across the street, the same one in which many students were jailed during the 1960s movement. At the park several pastors prayed over Birmingham and all of our Civil Rights efforts.  We held hands in a big circle and sang more songs together.

Afterwards, we went to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and witnessed a rally just outside the doors of the institute.  The rally honored Reverend Fireball Smith, Reverend John T. Porter and Reverend A.D. King.  The rally consisted of different people in the community going up and raising awareness of some of today’s issues.  First, there was a speaker about homelessness in the community and how it is a growing problem that needs to be recognized.  Then, a Reverend talked about racial reconciliation.  Next, a state senator informed us that we must support the democratic political process.  Next, an attorney talked about justice in the penal system.  Then a Birmingham news reporter spoke about past, present and future Civil Rights efforts.  Then, another speaker spoke about the importance of youth participation within Civil Rights.  Finally, our host EMCEE talked about economic justice and how it is a rising issue and needs to be acknowledged.  Then, a six year old Civil Rights activist stood on a chair and delivered a powerful speech about his view on Civil Rights.  He explained that it’s very simple-everyone is born with equal inalienable rights and should be treated so.  His speech hit hard with people because of his impeccable dialect and powerful words.  Everyone was enthusiastic and took in his words deeply. There was also a special appearance by a Civil Rights Pioneer, who did his best to grace us with his presence and say a few words.  Finally, to end the rally, an R&B singer sang us a song he wrote about his views on the Civil Rights movements. To summarize, our chief guest, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, the person whose statue stands in front of the BCRI, spoke from his wheelchair.  Now 88 years old and suffering from a stroke, he was still full of fire.

After the rally concluded we went inside the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and got a tour of the entire building.  It started with a movie introducing the Institute and showing us what it was all about.  Then we were sent on a self-guided tour.  Everyone got to go at their own pace walking through all the exhibits and viewing shot clips on televisions that were set up through out the tour.  The feel of the tour was to send you back to that time period and get a feeling of what it was like to live then.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the tour and the detailed displays.

Afterwards, we had lunch outside and then walked to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.  There we listened to several jazz bands which were very interesting.  The music was beautiful and everyone seemed to connect with it.  We then went to a special room and met with a professional clarinetist Frank ‘Doc’ Adams who wrote and played a song for us on the spot.

Then, we reloaded the bus for a bus tour of Birmingham.  We learned about the history and architecture of the city.  We stopped at an old preserved steel factory and were free to roam and look at the different artifacts on our own.  There were belly dancing and drum performances there as well.  We reloaded the bus and continued on our tour to a park with the infamous man statue.  It had a beautiful view at the top of a hill overlooking downtown Birmingham.  Many people took lots of pictures here and enjoyed the nice weather. 

After the tour we headed back to the hotel to relax and get ready for tomorrow.

Sunday, March 30^th, 2008:

After eating breakfast at the hotel we departed for 6^th Avenue Baptist Church for the 8:30 a.m. service.  Here, we participated in worship which was lead by the men’s choir.  We sang “Just a Little Talk with Jesus”, “God is Faithful”, “What if God is Unhappy With our Praise”, and the service was closed with “Soon and Very Soon”.  Prior to the sermon which was lead by Dr. Al B. Sutton the teenage boys Step team preformed their competition piece to a prayer. The sermon was about interpreting proverbs and the need for repetition, knowledge, and wisdom when reading the bible.  Our Social Action Theater students also preformed “Are You Game?” and received good questions about the choice which the teenage girl was face; weather or not to steal a game which she couldn’t afford. 

Next, we traveled to New Pilgrim Baptist Church for a 10:45 service.  Here, worship was also lead by the men’s choir.  A member of the congregation, sang a song which she wrote during the civil rights movement called “On my way to Freedom Land”.  Angie participated in the song along with her and soon the whole congregation joined in.  Pastor Brooks spoke about allowing the Lord in our lives.  Our final meal in Alabama was prepared by volunteers at the church.  Prior to eating, we heard a story of a man who experienced discrimination while on a bus during segregated times.  Later, the same couple who discriminated against him allowed to him to sit where he wanted once he put on a military uniform.  After the meal, the bus was loaded and we headed back for Wisconsin.

We arrived back in La Crosse at 6:00 am Monday March 31.