Off on my travels: Day 1 of my American Civil Rights Pilgrimage - Arriving in Atlanta, Georgia

We have arrived in Atlanta! And in keeping with my usual standards, my over-excited glee managed to attract the attention of Airport security as we entered the US last night! I received my first stamp in my passport! The rest of my group were able to go through the express line because they are returning travellers, so the gentleman at customs had already pondered whether they might be trying to tell him something and he should put me back on the plane!! When he stamped my passport I said, 'I'm very excited that you're doing that,' and then he started to write over the stamp and I added, 'unless you're writing "rejected"!'

We made it to our hotel, The Peachtree, in Downtown Atlanta. It was pretty chilly here! 

Once we were settled in our rooms, we headed off out to find somewhere for dinner, and finally settled on the Hard Rock Cafe - that seemed a fairly standard thing to do on your first night! 

It turns out that folks in Atlanta are even bigger snow wimps than Weymouthians! Through Friday night, Atlanta experienced a snowfall of around 3mm - and this dominated the news for the whole day, which was fine, but also, EVERYWHERE was closed!! On the plus side, I managed to take some good photos of American streets with literally no people on them!

We began our first day with a walk around Auburn Avenue, which is designated as the MLK historical area because it is Dr King's birthplace, the area where he grew up and where he was a pastor. 




There is a massive Visitor Center incorporated into the area (which was closed) with a walkway and a bright blue pool, and in the centre of the pool, MLK's tomb. This wasn't for me, really. I feel inclined to use the word vulgar, even though I believe the intention - that of offering a fitting tribute to a very inspirational person - is good. I also found that the contrast between the reconstructed buildings and the original church house was too great, though on reflection maybe the design is meant to illustrate his 'humble beginnings to greatness' trajectory. Still, if that's the case I don't think we need the 'greatest' to be so brash. It's a bit like hosting a five-course meal in a castle to commemorate the struggles of a homeless person!  




One part of the Martin Luther King historical buildings I did think was nice was this eternal flame, which burns near the pool where King's body is laid to rest.

In the afternoon we met up with the Winsconsin Eau Clare students and had our first joint visit, to the Museum of Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. Did it offer a pro-black, one-sided, biased representation of life in America in the sixties? Yes it damn well did and so it should. I am feeling so angry. I imagine I'm having an experience that many Muslims can relate to in the current climate. I am truly ashamed that my fellow human beings could ever have behaved (or in truth, continue to behave in many cases) with such ignorance, violence, with such abhorrent brutality, but more than that I am utterly disgusted that they could ever believe that they represent any aspect of me - my views, my beliefs, my 'superiority', my colour. How dare they. More than ever I understand the hashtag that has begun to surface and picks up pace whenever a terrible event occurs. #notinmyname 

Something else I thought about today is where such prejudice comes from, how it even has even come to exist in the first place. So here's my analogy: If I stole a puppy from a loving family, and I subjected that puppy to violence, unpredictability, sometimes feeding it, sometimes not, sometimes kicking it and beating it, sometimes not, I believe that as that puppy grew stronger and developed the potential to cause me harm, I would come to fear that the puppy would turn on me. And I imagine I would need to become even more aggressive and controlling in order to feel confident that I wouldn't be attacked. And eventually, my fear would turn to resentment, and my hatred of that dog would become all-consuming. Because let's face it, none of us like to have face our demons at the best of times, but especially not when we've created them. Of course, this is day one. I'm sure I'll have an altered view tomorrow.

There was a very effective exhibit at the museum, set out as a lunch counter (presumably to replicate the Woolworths counter at Greensboro). You sat and placed your hand on the counter, whilst listening to a recording through headphones. The recording was so incredibly abusive it genuinely made me feel physically sick, and is making me want to cry even now, the next morning, just thinking about it. Then the sounds of brutal physical attacks going on around you, and you count feel people breathing in your ears as they continue their racist attacks. Thinking about it now, I must have imagined that I could feel their breath as it was an open room and I was wearing headphones, which is weird because I would have sworn it was real. Anyway, the point of the exhibit is to give some sense of the strength of mind that was required to remain non-violent in the face of such brutality, and it definitely did achieve that. I would not ever have been able to do what they did. 

Off on my travels: My American Civil Rights Pilgrimage

Hello! I am writing this blog post at Heathrow Airport as I await my fellow travellers. As part of my American Studies degree, I am travelling to the Southern states of America, often referred to as the Deep South, with four fellow Winchester Students. We are flying to Georgia, Atlanta, where we will meet up with around seventy students from the University of Wisconsin Eau Clare.  I have been looking forward to this trip since I first discovered it was an optional part of my studies, but now that it is here, my fear equals my excitement! This will be my first long-haul flight, my first time outside of Europe, in fact this trip will constitute a number of firsts for me. Visiting America has always been a dream of mine, but for my first trip there to be as part of a Civil Rights Pilgrimage is beyond anything I could have hoped for. 

So, as I wait for my fellow travellers to join me, I am making the most of the airport facilities - USA, here I come!

Update: I have been joined by my fellow students, what a fabulous four we are, and we are ready for our exciting journey! 

Update: I am ready for take-off on the trip of a life-time!  See you all on the other side of the Atlantic!