One week after myself and other Bay Path students rang in the new year, we headed back to campus to join Dr. Surbrug and Shanita Ray on the One America trip. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the group traveled to Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee to visit and relive some of the key moments of the Civil Rights Movement.
We started our trip in Atlanta, Georgia. The first day was filled with light-hearted activities compared to the heaviness we would feel when we reached our end destination. We began our day getting lunch at Mellow Mushroom, a famous pizza restaurant in the south. We then went to the Coca-Cola Factory to learn about the secret formula, advertising, and how Coca-Cola became so popular. Our second day in Georgia included a trip to the Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. King gave his first sermon and where his mother was later assassinated. We also had the chance to visit the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and the King Center. It was an uplifting day filled with hope for our future. The class ended our time in Georgia at the Georgia Aquarium, one of the largest in America.
We loaded our bus, packed up our things, and headed for Alabama late that second night. We began in Birmingham and visited the 16th Baptist Street Church to listen and pay our respect to the young lives that were lost in the bombing that day. We continued to the top of the Vulcan and overlooked all of Birmingham. Our next stop was to Montgomery. Montgomery was filled with some of the heavier scenes of our trip. We visited the Freedom Riders Museum, Civil Rights Memorial Center, and Rosa Parks Museum. These all led to our powerful and moving walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. This is where King and several others marched on Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, and their final, successful march. Being able to walk in the same steps that these brave individuals did was a moving experience.
Our final destination was Memphis, Tennessee. We enjoyed breakfast at Arcade, the oldest cafe in Memphis. From here we headed to Graceland to celebrate Elvis Presley’s birthday! We had the opportunity to tour his house and land, as well as see his burial place, cars, planes and career memorabilia. We also had the chance to eat at Elvis’s table at the oldest restaurant in Memphis. He is more of an influence today than ever before. His music and charisma continue to inspire thousands of people.
Our final day we visited one of the most important places of our trip, The Lorraine Motel. We stood feet away from the exact spot that King was assassinated and where James Earl Ray made the fatal shot. This was the heaviest day of the trip for most of the students, including myself. Although there were strong feelings of sorrow, there were also feelings of hope. Even though Dr. King has passed, his ideas haven’t, and he continues to inspire so many people today. In our world, now more than ever, his teachings and motivation can be useful towards everyone. Dr. King was an incredible and driven person who was not afraid to stand up for what he believed in and what was right.
After spending months learning about the Civil Rights Movement and all that Dr. King did, it was an incredible experience to be able to walk in the steps that he did, as well as see parts of his life. Seeing this in person brought to life what we had learned and resonated more with myself and other classmates. As we approach the anniversary of his assassination in April, keep in mind all that he did for civil rights and all that his words and passion continue to do for us today.
