Birmingham Alabama

What can I say but I jumped in the chevy and hit the road out of Nashville. I quite liked it in the end but then I am middle aged, prosperous white guy so of course I would fit right in. I should make one or two more observations before I leave. Nearly everyone I met was a transplant, I think I met two natives and one was that redneck taxi driver I mentioned earlier. The guys really do wear stetsons, boots and have big belt buckles. The girls, well during the day its all bare legs and cowboy boots. You can tell when they're in their "goin' out clothes" because they put their jeans on first and tuck them into their boots. 

There were two things I wanted to do in Tennessee that didn't happen and one I actively discarded. I am in the south so the race issue is still fresh in a lot of peoples minds and in the case of the poorest members of the community the inequality obvious. The National Civil Rights Museum which is housed in the Lorraine Motel Memphis and the location of the assissination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. is a place I would have liked to visit but it is shut on Sunday. I keep forgetting I am in the south. I also wanted to check out the Gibson guitar factory but it was not open Sunday mornings which is the only time I could make it because the entire south is shut for church. The thing I chose not to do was visit the Jack Daniels distillery, believe it or not, but it is in a "dry county" the only booze you can buy anywhere near there is the display packs from the gift shop.

But before I called up at my first port of call in Alabama I had the radio tuned to a classic rock station and none other but Lynyrd Skynryd came on doing their massive classic hit "Sweet Home Alabama" I giggled like a school girl.

I am only going to spend one night in Alabama so I thought I would head to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Like the JFK memorial in Dallas it is quite eerie to stand in the park where black children were attacked with fire hoses and protesters had dogs set upon them. The church where 4 young girls were killed in a bombing also borders the institute. There were four perpetrators one of whom died before he could be brought to justice. Another was sentenced to life in prison in 1977 and the remaining two senteneced to life in 2001 and 2002. The day I visited was the 52nd anniversary of the bombing (I had no idea). 

Inequality is still rife in America. When you see a homeless person he is very rarely white. On the way to the museum I got panhandled again. I don't know what the answers are except to note that everyone needs access to quality healthcare. So many people seem to be suffering from treatable illnesses. There is also a need for access to quality education. Both of these things are so politicised in this country. 

The museum abounded with powerful imagery, probably the most thought provoking to me was a Klu Klux Klan robe, cross and shovel. The FBI had collected these in to evidence as part of an investigation into the cross being set alight in the yard of a couple living together, the man being black and the woman  was  white. This took place sometime in the 1990's. 

There were other symbols of oppresion on display. One of two tanks used to quell rioters in Birmingham and one of the freedom ride buses that had been attacked as it passed through Birmingham. The park outside had much amazing artwork, I hope the photos do it justice. The one below from one side looks like a normal statue to commemorate the two people in it or what they stood for and it does all that. However once you stand in front of it its real intent becomes manifestly obvious.

I am pushing on to Montgomery tonight. I am still awaiting a reply to see if I can get in to the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church (its by booking only). Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was the pastor there for almost six years and it is where much of the organising was done for  the civil rights movement in this country and where he made many famous speeches. Either way I hit Florida tomorrow and who knows what that will bring.