To be honest, I have never really looked into The Children's March or thought about the Civil Rights Institute and the 16th Baptist Church. In class we watched a very powerful video before the trip to Birmingham to visit these cool places, and I expected the video was going to be boring but it only caused me to become more interested in the subject. I have never been able to wrap my mind around how racist people can be in this day and age, much less back then. Killing four little girls? Throwing police dogs on people, even little kids? The people of this time showed no mercy.
As we arrived to 16th Baptist Church where the four little girls were bombed and killed, I felt a sudden sadness in my heart. This is where many families will never be able to look at the building the same. The wonderful man who filled us in on stuff "you can't find on google" had a sense of humor, and that shocked me. It shocked me because I would think this would be such a serious moment or place, therefore it wasn't a joking matter. But his thoughts were, all glory to God. He had such things as urine thrown on him, just for being a black person in the wrong place at the wrong time. Can you imagine?
Walking through the Civil Rights Institute made me cringe. Seeing that KKK uniform made me think I would see that thing in my nightmares. Seeing the little that blacks had, but how big they made it out to be, it made me happy. The blacks simply new people were ignorant but made the best of the situation. Yes, some were violent but when Martin Luther King jr. asked for them to tone it down and to prove a point, they quit. Those children marched into that police car proudly, they knew it would all be over soon.
If anyone ever argues that the Civil Rights Field Trip is a waste of time, they are wrong. The difference between hearing about these events and seeing the artifacts was something you need to experience. I try to have as much empathy as I can, and it is much easier to do when you SEE it. My opinion of the Civil Rights' Issues remains the same, it never should have existed.
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