The city of Montgomery, Alabama has embraced America’s legacy of racism and the heroic civil rights struggle with open arms. That big hug is what invites visitors of every skin color and ethnic background to visit, weep and be recruited into the struggle for human rights that continues everywhere.
At our fall 2020 visit, the weeping was from visitors impacted by the immersive museums and historic sites marking past incidents of racial terror. The Montgomerians we met, by contrast, are “fired up” as local newscasters used to say about the infamous Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Equal Justice Initiative and the many civic improvements they support have inspired the next generation of Alabama Blacks with enthusiasm and hope for the future.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Parks
The Montgomery Bus Boycott that fired up Black Alabamans began in 1955 with a young Black seamstress and activist, Rosa Parks. In the strictly segregated South, she refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white person. Her arrest triggered a 13-month-long boycott of public buses by the Negro population of Montgomery, who worked together to launch ride shares, carpools and private taxis.
That protest was led by the young pastor of the A.M.E. Baptist Church and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. became a household name.
The Rosa Parks Museum and Children’s Annex chronicles the life of Ms. Parks, focusing on the bus boycott. Peruse the historical context of her story to better understand the ugly legacy of racism. Of great interest to families, the Time Travel exhibit in the Children’s Annex welcomes visitors to board a bus like Ms. Parks did, then follow a timeline of racial discrimination and civil rights protests through projections outside the windows.
Public Monuments to Civil Rights Activists
A few blocks away, on the corner of historic Dexter Avenue, a life-size bronze statue of Ms. Parks stands her ground, waiting for the next bus. You may meet Eddie, as we did, a tall, lean Black who acts as an unofficial guide to travelers who pause by the statue. Eddie adds color and detail to the history of the Montgomery’s famous Court Square Fountain, whose top tier holds a statue of the Greek goddess Hebe to protect the belowground artesian well. The square was the center of slave auctioning during the long period when Alabama ruled the domestic slave trade as one of the largest slave-owning states.
The Civil Rights Memorial Center was designed by Maya Lin (artist of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC) for the Southern Poverty Law Center. Its quiet strength comes from its simplicity. Contemplate the somber black marble bowl inscribed with the names of 40 individuals who sacrificed their lives in the Civil Rights struggle. Behind it, a wall bathed in falling water softens the legacy of racism so evident here with one of Dr. King’s most famous quotes: “Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.’
Freedom Riders are Honored in Montgomery, Alabama
Walk up to the retro Greyhound sign towering above a one-story building and you’ll be confused by which door to enter. Turn that doubt into fear of losing your life if you pick the wrong one – that’s the emotion that launched the Freedom Riders movement in 1961. After the Bus Desegregation victory triggered by Rosa Parks, African-Americans were still not allowed to share terminal facilities. The laws protecting segregation in interstate commerce were a powerful legacy of racism in America.
Groups of young white and Black activists, including the late Congressman John Lewis, boarded buses throughout the South to help end racial segregation. Because the Freedom Rides earned a lot of publicity, they were often met outside stations by local law enforcement or the Ku Klux Klan, who triggered havoc, chaos and mass violence.
The Freedom Rides Museum, a small site run by the Alabama Department of History, tells the story of 21 activists and that chapter of the Civil Rights movement in comprehensive wall panels. While a cornerstone of Montgomery’s role on Alabama’s Civil Rights Trail, the Freedom Riders National Monument is in Anniston, Alabama, where the firebombing of a Freedom Riders bus made headlines around the world.
The Equal Justice Initiative Defines Montgomery
The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) has had a profound impact on Montgomery and the country. Founded in 1989 by attorney Bryan Stevenson to challenge cases of racial injustice and abuse, its story was immortalized in Stevenson’s best-selling book “Just Mercy” as well as the 2019 film starring Michael B. Jordan.
Today, the non-profit EJI continues its legal and social justice work while sponsoring research about lynchings since the Civil War. EJI’s transformative public memorials honor victims of all types of racial terror and explore the legacy of racism. In the spring of 2018, EJI opened the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, adding the Legacy Pavilion with its southern restaurant and gift shop in 2020.
Within walking distance of downtown Montgomery, each EJI project is a striking architectural achievement showcasing searing proof of racial injustice.
Universal acclaim for their undeniable power has drawn visitors from around the world and put Montgomery – with its grim history of racial violence — on the dark tourism map.
EJI’s Museum Explores Legacy of Racism
The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration is located in a former warehouse for imprisoned Blacks. On entering, visitors descend into virtual slave pens occupied by digital enslaved peoples who tell their story. The legacy of their stories, of the Civil War, lynching, mass incarceration, Civil Rights struggles and marginalization is told through video, sound, photo displays and artifacts.
Just say the names written on jars of soil from the sacred ground where Blacks were publicly lynched. From listening to prisoners through headsets to studying the attributes of slaves up for auction, the Legacy Museum is immersive, terrifying and powerful enough to stop short of being overwhelming.
EJI’s National Memorial for Peace, Justice and Lynching Victims
The most humbling site in Montgomery is the EJI National Memorial for Peace and Justice, more commonly known as the Lynching Memorial. Hundreds of tall iron gravestones organized by state and county are engraved with the names and dates of lynching victims. The weight of these rusted markers, like coffins hanging overhead, is unbearable. Their haunting presence cries out for recognition; listen as visitors whisper each victim’s name and the county of their death. Another set of the same engraved panels commemorating the worst legacy of racism are laid out flat on rolling green lawns for easier access.
That more than 4,000 victims of racial terror were discovered by the EJI researchers is not as startling as learning that scholars believe the actual number is much higher.
The theatre inside the memorial plays video compilations used in the various exhibits of the Legacy Museum. Spend some time there to catch your breath before returning to the historic downtown of the city.
Montgomery’s Legacy of Racism Leads to a Better Future
While everything is not black and white, Montgomery is still a city of contrasts. The glittering, white granite Alabama State Capitol is where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederacy in 1861.
Just one block away, the worn red brick Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is where Reverend Martin Luther King was selected to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott – and the Civil Rights movement – in 1955.
Where Southern isn’t Synonymous with Racist
Today, the city subdued by the global pandemic is quieter and, in some ways, is more powerful. The legislature is not in session. The memorials, museums and many businesses are run by Blacks. As white visitors, we are a minority warmly welcomed to learn more about a painful past in a city where Black lives matter.
Our hotel, the Springhill Suites Montgomery Downtown rises from a converted factory building. A lobby display of artifacts found at the site during the renovation indicates grain making, tool cutting and other myriad businesses. Very stylish rooms, with exposed brick walls and soaring ceilings, overlook Coosa Street and the Alabama Riverfront, where so many historic struggles took place.
Across the street, Central is typical of city’s newer foodie establishments. These places with farm to table menus prepared with sophisticated Southern style are a contemporary version of the all-you-can-eat soul food buffet served up by the classic Martha’s Place Buffet.
That both have their place in thriving Montgomery is a testament to how far the new generation of Blacks and Whites have come towards reconciliation. It’s that spirit that Montgomery embraces and that visitors will take away.
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People who choose to book trips for summer or further out should do so with caution; the coronavirus pandemic is unpredictable. And many reservations may claim flexibility. Amid so much unknown, there will be one certainty: the headaches of rescheduling and canceling.
With a rugged interior featuring 286 peaks topping 3,000 meters Taiwan’s railway system is shoehorned onto the coastal margins where most of Taiwan’s cultural life is concentrated. Whether you ride the high-speed service from Taipei City to the second city of Kaohsiung or spend a week slowly circumnavigating the island by local train, all journeys are within eyeshot of either the cobalt-blue Pacific Ocean, flatlands of verdant rice-paddies, or towering mountainsides
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Amazing Post! about Amsterdam
There’s one street in Baltimore that’s more festive than the rest. Every holiday season, the neighborhood of Maryland’s miracle on h Street is decked out in Christmas lights and festive displays. From a tree made of hubcaps to classic candy cane fixtures, each house is uniquely decorated.
Considering Northeast Ohio has plenty of breweries, as well, Thomann was asked if it’s more likely we’ll find the members of Dorfrocker touring different venues tasting beers or visiting the Rock Roll Hall of Fame?
Covid-19 certainly affects travels plan…Not long ago my friends were among passengers of the British cruise ship Braemar. And how could the US refuse to help the ship and close the borders?? Unlike the US, Cuba showed its humanity and friendship! Thank you Cuba
Would you like to stay in the gorgeous area around Keukenhof? You can! We have a broad range of great hotels and bed and breakfasts for you. Accommodations in Haarlem, Leiden or Amsterdam are also good options.
I will reach Amsterdam only on 19 May morning, the last day of the flower exhibit. Is it still worthwhile to go Keukenhof Gardens? Will there still be many flowers to be seen?
Tulips and other flowers mainly bloom during spring. March through May is therefore the best time to visit the Netherlands if you want to watch them in bloom. The world’s most beautiful spring park, the Keukenhof, is open during this time.
If a court order states that one parent can travel abroad with the child without the consent of the other parent, what documentation is required? We recommend carrying a copy of the court order stating that the other parent’s consent is not needed to travel abroad with the child. Any questions about the wording of the court order should be directed to a family lawyer.
If transporting your pet by air is the only option, find out whether they can travel in the cabin with you. Most airlines will allow you to take a cat or small dog in the cabin for an additional fee. But you must call the airline well in advance; there are limits to the number of animals allowed in the cabin. If you are transporting your dog, make sure they meet the size requirements. If you get overwhelmed by all the regulations, there are companies that can help you navigate through the process of flying with a pet.
Is a consent letter mandatory? There is no Canadian legal requirement for children to carry a consent letter. However, a consent letter may be requested by immigration authorities when entering or leaving a foreign country, airline agents or Canadian officials when re-entering Canada. Failure to produce a letter upon request may result in delays or refusal to enter or exit a country.
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2 adults available to drive your car from New Orleans to north suburb of Chicago mid October. Need 3 or four nights. Split the gas,
Dogs and cats should always be kept safely inside the car. Pets who are allowed to stick their heads out the window can be injured by particles of debris or made sick by having cold air forced into their lungs. Never transport a pet in the back of an open pickup truck.
Ever dreamed of driving along the cliffs that overlook the Pacific with the windows down? Or wanted to travel the historic Oregon Trail in a car instead of on a computer? Explore these eleven incredible cross-country road trip routes across the U.S.
Rhonda, from a railman who started his train travel when he was 16, I would strongly suggest a Canadian Train Ride! Via Rail Canada offers four significant rides through wilderness and coastal areas with deluxe, overnight trains from Toronto to Vancouver ( 4 nights), and Montreal to Halifax, Nova Scotia (one night). Both offer a chance to have decent meals enroute, and sleeping car accommodations. Train crews tend to be a bit friendlier than south of the border, Canada, largely uninhabited, offers many scenic vistas with little hamlets few and far between, certainly a wonderful way for both of you to enjoy these new experiences.
Via Rail Canada also offers Railpasses, which enable you to travel on other routes as well for a bit of a price reduction. It’s all up to you!
Their website is http://www.viarail.ca for further information.
My son is a rail fan and we have traveled only in the US but I would love to surprise him with an excursion where he could talk to the train staff and railroad personnel. I would also like to include beautiful scenery as well for Both of us. My son is 16 and I am 59. We love to explore and don’t mind walking and roughing it!! any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Get your pet geared up for a long trip by taking him on a series of short drives first, gradually lengthening time spent in the car. And please be sure to always secure the crate so it won??™t slide or shift in the event of a quick stop.
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This driving route of the Appalachian Trail parallels the epic hike. From the top of New England to the heart of Dixie, it takes you through continuous natural beauty—without the sweat, bugs, or blisters.
7 memorable Tips for Traveling to Mexico
Don stress if you don Mexico is agreeable to English speaking travelers, And there a ton of tips to get to know the country landscapes, terms, And younger culture.
yet still, If you new to traveling or have never been out of the us, A trip to Mexico may be somewhat frightening.
If you interested in learning some tips for traveling to Mexico, Take a look at our 7 easy to remember tips for your journey. We outlined some of the basics that you’d like to learn for your own aventura!
1. Choose the Right Transportation If you traveling to Mexico, You need to decide you might arrive by car, aeroplane, Or liner. It important to know how you want to arrive because it will searching,an extravagance,good to have city you arrive in, How much luggage you results, and so forth.
an individual can find international flights if you prefer to travel by air. instead, There are plenty of cruises to Mexico that you can enjoy if you like the amenities and beautiful views that are included in ship travel!
If you live nearby the border, Or just need to take a bit of a road trip, going down the road by car is always an option as well.
2. Use Pesos When You Can It best if you use the local currency pesos when you can. while touristy areas accept USD, They choose the rate at that they accept it, So it is possible to get a better deal if you just use pesos.
Consider exchanging USD for pesos somewhere in the usa before your trip and dividing up your cash between USD and pesos during your trip.
3. Know bathing room Etiquette In Mexico, The sewage pipes just aren built to handle a lot. this means that people rarely flush their toilet paper. rather than, There will often be a trash bin near the toilet for you to put your used toilet paper in.
further, Men may make of entering a bathroom labeled with an M, let’s assume that it stands for However, The M actually can stand for mujeres, Which is the word for in Spanish. Men needs to look for doors labeled H, Which stands for the Spanish word for men, Hombres.
4. Practice Some Spanish One of the most basic tips for traveling to Mexico is to learn a few Spanish phrases before your trip.
once you know basic things, Like how to ask where the bathroom is or how to order food, Will make your trip to Mexico a lot smoother. sometimes, The locals will appreciate the effort, Even if they undoubtedly speak English as well!
5. Adjust to the Time Whether you are changing time zones while having trip or staying in the same one, You find that Mexico runs on a lot more fluid schedule. Punctuality is less of a concern, So you take pleasure in it a lot more if you can relax and don push a strict schedule.
furthermore, Meals are spaced out a bit distinct in Mexico. You will usually have a large breakfast, associated with the main meal of the day between 2:00 together with 4:00 pm hours. then finally, You will enjoy a smaller meal at dusk.
6. Drink Bottled Water Bottled water can be found on just about any street corner for purchase. Why exactly do you wish to buy bottled water?
let me tell you, Most of Mexico plain faucet water is unpurified. Some hotels may have filtered water, But be sure to go shopping for a sign above your sinks before you test it out!
If you be residing in Mexico for a lengthier trip, Consider buying or bring a water filter with you to purify the tap water and avoid buying so much bottled water. You be decreasing costs and plastic consumption!
7. Stray off the Beaten Path While sightseeing attractions and famous beaches are always fun to see, Traveling to lesser known places will offer you a more authentic taste of Mexico.
of which this isn an excuse to be reckless or oblivious to your surroundings. Be mindful of the areas you visiting and research where you will make sure it a safe area.
Now You Armed with all very reputable Tips for Traveling to Mexico Mexico is a diverse country with so much to see and offer.
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Many parents of individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder dread traveling or often avoid it altogether. Most people with ASD do better with routine and structure and a break from that (vacation) can often lead to stress and even meltdowns. Additionally, traveling by air can include having to navigate a multitude of unpleasant experiences from airport security procedures, moving sidewalks, and boarding tunnels to cramped seats, unfamiliar noises, and lots of strangers. Experts indicate that preparation and practice is the key to a successful flight and travel. Before your trip, talk with your child about what to expect. Go over the details of the travel: how you’ll get to the airport, wait in line, go through security, find your departure gate, get on the plane, buckle seatbelts, and spend time onboard. Flying to See Janet: A Fun Guide to the Airport Experience is a book you can use to prepare children for the unfamiliar sights and sounds of the airport experience. You can also write your own social story.
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Emily, my coming of age years were the late 1970s, early 1980s at the YMCA. I agree with you about the open showers versus the individual shower stalls. From a guys perspective, I spent many nights and weekends swimming or playing basketball at my local YMCA. Showering with not only my friends, but over the years, dads, neighbors and guys from church. It really makes one comfortable, not in a sexual way, with one self and others. Never had the nude swimming, I think that ended in the 1960s as women/girls joined the YMCA, forcing may YWCAs to close their doors.
Amelie, here in the US a number of Korean Spas have opened. As with Japanese, Korean families bath together (grandmother, daughter, grand-daughter), (dad, son) separated by gender. They are starting to attract a diverse clientele (age, race, etc). So who knows, maybe the nude swimming will return to the Y someday.
The Ski and Snow Vacations for Families article is one of the best I have ever read!
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Note that Global Affairs Canada cannot provide you with advice about the Consent Letter for Children Travelling Abroad beyond what is offered on this website.
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Chicago is a famous place that has many impressive landscapes.
Most visitors like traveling there.
I am always looking online for tips that can facilitate me. Thx!
helo, do you happent allow drive passengers to another state?
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I’m so happy that you enjoyed your experience at the Onsen!
I’ve never been to an Onsen, but I would love to get to visit one some day.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s my mom was the head supervisor at a YWCA in Ohio. I practically lived in the YWCA (not literally, of course) for the 19 years that my mom worked there. I had a part time job at the YWCA for a few years in the 1990s.
One of the great things about spending so much time at the YWCA was that I grew up using the locker room all of the way from a young child to a young woman and being 100% comfortable with both my own nudity and the nudity of all other females.
I feel that it was so much better back then when the Y had one big room full of shower heads on the walls than it is with stalls these days. The group shower setting was great from a bonding experience. I feel that it’s much healthier psychologically speaking that females are exposed to other women’s and girl’s bodies, as opposed to feeling that we need to hide from each other and change clothes in toilet stalls or under towels.
One of the benefits of having a mom who was a supervisor of the Y was that after hours my mom and my sisters and myself could just skinny dip in the pool, and my sisters and I were allowed to have our female friends with us for a skinny dipping session on Friday and Saturday nights.
Also, my aunt and a few of my female cousins would skinny dip with my mom, my sisters and I every once in a while.
My mom said that she had heard that the YWCA used to have one night a week that was for nude swimming back in the 1960s and most of the 1970s. Obviously it was a female only facility at the time.
Dubbed the Great Northern in memory of the pioneer railroad that parallels the western half of the route, US-2 is truly the most stunning and unforgettable, not to mention longest, of all the great transcontinental road trips.
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Oh man. I’m so sorry this happened to you. I certainly appreciate your take on this though, a little humor goes a long way. I’m headed to Barcelona in a few days, so I’ll be sure to keep my valuables close. Thanks for sharing.