B-Ham continued

Two nights in Birmingham turned into three nights in Birmingham.  Wednesday night Ryan and I had our first fight.  Well, it wasn't actually a fight... the was no blood drawn, nor any insults flying.  Plus, if it was a fight, I would've won.  It was more of a mutual "I'm sick of being around you and I'm not going to talk to you anymore." We went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory; Ryan had never been to one before.  I claim he was being the stick in the mud, he claims it was me =)

Anyhow Thursday was a whole new day and everything was fine.  I spent the day at the mall.  Those of you who know me really well, know that I do not like to shop.  I don't like to browse, I don't like to try on clothes, I don't like to offer my opinion to others who are shopping with me.  If I am shopping alone, it's because I am going into a store for something specific, with the goal of directly locating the item, purchasing it, and then leaving.  If I'm being forced to go shopping with someone, I am happiest sitting in the nearest chair.  My mom got off so easily having me as a daughter!  So it was quite unusual for me to spend the day at the mall, but it was too windy to go to the pool that day and my work out clothes were wadded up from being sweaty the day before.  I only made it through half the mall but I did do some damage.  I bought mostly clearance items, which means i can't even wear them until next year when it warms up again.  And they were clothes for a job... more dressy than casual.  So next year, at my undetermined new job, I will be looking HOT!

Friday Ryan didn't have to work so he took me to the Birmingham

To get there, we walked through this park that had several adult men hanging out in it.  On our way out, one guy had even fallen asleep at a picnic table.  Here is what the building looked like

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You start off in a room watching an 8 minute video about how Birmingham became a city prior to the 1930s.  Then the screen lifts up, and everyone gets up and walks behind where it was and that is the start of the museum.  It's a go-at-your-own-pace type of place.  There are statues, replicas of things such as classrooms and buses, copies of newspaper articles, videos playing throughout various parts of the building, quotes, etc.  As you can imagine, the area is very crowded at first, until people disperse at their own rate.  Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, there were no pictures allowed to be taken inside.

It was sickening.  

There was live footage of black people being held back with fire hydrant hoses spraying water, examples of "whites" vs "colored" drinking fountains, photographs of grown men being hung with white people all around watching and cheering, and images of slaves' backs' horrifically scarred.  There was an official klu klux klan uniform, positioned in front of a burnt cross.  There was an example of the difference in type of classrooms in black schools vs white schools; black teachers had an average of 42 students per classroom whereas white teachers only had an average classroom size of 23. 

I was one of the last people to make it through the winding museum.  Close to the end, on a large projection screen, is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. giving his "I Have a Dream" speech.  I wept.  I was glad that somehow I managed to arrive at this part alone.  It wasn't an ugly hysterical cry, but the tears streamed down, constant and uncontrollably.  And I stood there watching this man, with so much power and millions of people following him.  He could have easily promoted violence as his vehicle to achieve basic human rights, but instead he had the foresight, wisdom, and love of being a Christian to preach non violence.  And I wept.

Across the street from the Institute is the 16th Street Baptist Church.  This is the church that was bombed and four innocent little girls lost their lives at the hands of scared white men.  Men who chose violence as their response to non-violence. 

The Institute was featuring a set of photograhs for this season titled "Let your Motto be Resistance" which featured successful and famous black people and their various accomplishments to American society.

To wrap this up, I encourage everyone to live your life in a way that judges people by the content of their character, rather than by someone's accomplishments or lack there of.   Base nothing on how one's body looks whether it is obese or anorexic, a different color, short or tall, male or female, gay or straight, disabled, scarred, dirty or clean, rich or poor, strong or weak.  I also encourage you to remember that no matter what your problems are, there are people who have problems that far exceed yours.  Try to view your life in its true perspective, and follow the path of doing what's right even when you perceive everyone else to be bringing you down. Much love ~ Courtney