Spent the early morning at the International Community School in Decatur, GA. It is a fantastic model for building diverse communities; they currently have students from over 50 different countries. You can read more at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/us/24cnd-school.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=international%20community%20school&st=cse
The rest of the day and afternoon was spent at the King Center in Atlanta. I saw MLK's house, grave, and general museum. I was honored to see all of it but was a bit disappointed with the design and what appears to be lack of money spent on the museum. The neighborhood is really deteriorating, which is sad knowing its legacy was one of the most prominent African-American neighborhoods. I then had to get the heck out of Atlanta because the traffic was really getting to me.
Birmingham has been amazing. I wandered around downtown and ran into a fantastic local guy that showed me around. He told me stories of the KKK marching down his street and about his going to an all white school in the 90's. He was a very kind and open soul whom I am glad I was able to learn from. He also made sure I was safely walked around the town and back to my hotel. People are so respectful and gentlemanly down here. Finished the night interviewing an African-American women who works at my hotel. She was very candid about how recently she has experienced vivid racism. It looks as if Birmingham is still trying to heal.
Tomorrow: Civil Rights Institute, 16th st. Baptist church, and then on to Selma, AL.
Laura, Thank you for your wonderful posts. I thought I might tell you about a visit that I had to the MLK memorial a few years back. It was me and a blonde, white, southern co-worker. We were on a break from our conference and decited to take the train over. What we didn't realize was the walk involved from the station. As we walked through the neighborhoods, folks stared at us as they drove past, walked past, or looked on from their homes. All that we could think about was how uncomfortable our dress shoes were, how hot we were, and whether or not this was a 'safe' neighborhood. I then attended church service a couple days later, in the big church, across from Dr. King's original church. It was one of the best services that I had ever been to. Everyone was extremely kind to me and beyond that, I found what every white hippy wannabe needs in life - a really good coffee shop right around the corner. It was interesting how an uncomfortable walk could lead me to such a wonderful experience and one of the first of many lessons in my realizing that I have lived a pretty narrow existence. Katie
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