Montgomery is a city full of history, but one part of its history that I really learned a lot about was its role in the Civil Rights Movement. I have already written a post on their very informative, inspiring and impressive Civil Rights Memorial Center and it is well worth the $2 dollars they charge for adults.
However, there are many, many locations that you can find just walking or driving through Montgomery. They’re marked with historical markers, and even though I felt like I saw a lot while I was there, there are so many other Civil Rights sites to see!
The Alabama State Capitol, besides being something to see for that very reason, was where the Selma to Montgomery March ended. This iconic march, one of many led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was marched in peace, for eighteen hard days, for the right to vote in 1965. This march is the one that was made famous by the horrible event now known as “Bloody Sunday”. The sheriff stated that all white males in Selma, 21 or older, were deputized, and armed with nightsticks, tear gas and horses shoved, beat, gassed and ultimately hospitalized 17 members of the march.
I had to pay homage to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself at his parsonage from Dexter Avenue Baptist, but they must have been doing some major renovating or restoration work because it was completely blocked off, and I didn’t really get to see much of it on my walk through Montgomery.
My next stop was Court Square. During the time of the Civil War it was used as a site for slave auctions. That is one of the reason this square is considered ‘historical’, but an event that made this square so incredible that the mother of the Civil Rights Movement first sat at the front of the bus in this very square. Then, this became the site of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
It was really incredible to stand in the same place as Rosa Parks, and where the Civil Rights Movement really began: with one brave woman, not giving up her seat, peacefully showing that she deserved equal rights. It’s absolutely amazing and powerful to stand in that very spot.
There are so many other Civil Rights sites to visit and sometime soon I would really love to do the whole Civil Rights Trail!
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