My 2022 Project Week – Part 1

During the week of March 13-18 2022, I went on a school trip. The trip was designed to follow the civil rights movement and it is called the Civil Rights Trail. We went to so many fascinating places and many different cities. We started off by flying to Memphis, Tennessee where we spent our first day getting settled. On our second day we went sightseeing on the way to the Withers Collection. We saw a lot of photos and learned a good amount. We watched a very interesting movie named “Freedom Riders” on the way to Birmingham. On day three, we started our morning by visiting the park where firefighters used hoses to spray down black people. After visiting the park, we went to the Sixteenth Baptist Church. It was very empowering, but gruesome. Four little girls were bombed and killed at the Sixteenth Baptist Church. It was very sad to learn about that, but the outcome of their death was very empowering. This landmark made me realize how much power the youth has. It is the future of the youth that is going to be affected. Inside the church there is a glass painting of a black christ figure. The painting overlooks the church and has many meanings in it. The man’s arms were both above his head to show he was getting attacked by the fire hoses, along with a rainbow on the window to show that god loves everyone. His right hand is pushing away inequity, injustice, and hatred. His left hand is offering forgiveness and tolerance. We saw the exact spot the KKK had placed 19 sticks of dynamite. After visiting the church, we went to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. We mainly learned a lot about the basics of the civil rights movement. We learned about how Jim Crow Laws impacted people of color. One of the saddest parts was learning about lynchings. Black people were hated and killed just for existing. Slavery and Jim Crow laws allowed poor white people to still have power over people of color. We then drove to Prattville and watched a film named Selma.