Georgia + Alabama, a Civil Rights pilgrimage.

It's been exactly a month since I left on the trip of a lifetime with some of the most incredible individuals I know at Brigham Young University Campus. I've mentioned in previous posts how last summer I was met with some major nerdy FOMO and decided to take advantage of some really great undergrad courses. It was during this ferver, that I found the Civil Right Seminar at BYU—a class that meets once a week and goes in depth into the Civil Rights movement, and social history leading up to it.

The culmination of the class: a trip to Georgia & Alabama, visiting what I now consider sacred sites of the movement, and meetings with those who lived during some of the greatest moments of American history. I really feel completely spoiled with the numerous great experiences that I have been blessed with during my time here at BYU. This Civil Rights trip is no different, and I came away from the trip even more committed to the cause of Justice here in this land that I love. 

My favorite parts of the trip were always the churches. Churches were so integral to the movement, there was a spiritual presence in this place, but it was so much more than the sense of holiness you get in a sanctuary.  This was different; it was the historical imprint of sacrifice and immense faith of a generation who worked endlessly to ask for an end to discrimination on race, color, sex, and gender. This particular photo comes from Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta near Martin Luther King Jr.'s childhood home, and the church where Martin Luther King Sr. was pastor. 

We definitely had our fair share of Southern hospitality in the form of food. I came home to my pants feeling a little tighter, and my waistline expanding just ever so slightly.

For some reason, Anniston, AL was my favorite spot of the trip. It was completely empty, and we had the sacred site to ourselves. The bus depot was located in an unassuming part of the city with a carpet and gardening store across the street. I crossed the street and looked at the site from a distance trying to imagine the scenes that transpired decades earlier. 

This is Ms. Catherine Burks-Brooks who was an original freedom rider, we had the chance to meet with her personally and hear from her firsthand experience. She was one sassy lady, and my favorite story of her's involved the infamous "Bull" Connor. The Bull, dropped off the freedom riders at the Alabama, Tennessee border in the middle of the night, and Ms. Burks-Brooks told him, "you'll see me back at high noon."

This is Nelson Malden, Martin Luther King Jr.'s barber his stories presented a more human-real life perspective on Dr. King. 

In front of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL the Church Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the pastor when he lived in the city. 

This is the pattern in the middle street on the road leading up to the Alabama Capitol building. 

Participating in the Selma Jubilee Commemorative March

I saw this home in Tuskegee, AL and fell in LOVE with it. I had to snap a picture quickly as we drove away. 

The BEST cinnamon rolls from Mary Mac's Tea Room in Atlanta. 

K. Tell me Krissy doesn't remind you of the boy from Ezra Jack Keats' children's book, "The Snowy Day"??