Monday, October 14, 2013

"So much to do...so little time!"

The End of a Journey

A week seemed like such a long time.  We wanted so much to take it all in and then it was time to end our southern journey.  We learned and saw so much and still there's a need to return and learn more.  Our final stop was the  Civil Rights Memorial at the Southern Poverty Law Center.  A perfect ending to our long journey.  The memorial honors those who died during the Civil Rights Movement from 1954-1968.  The memorial is a circular black granite table with the inscribed names of 40 individuals whose lives were taken. A gentle flow of water bubbles from its center.  The wall behind the table has an inscription from a speech given by Martin Luther King Jr.  with water that flows in front of it.  It is breath taking.



Inside the memorial were displays giving the history of Montgomery.  The walls held stories and pictures of the individuals the museum was dedicated to.  A beautiful film "Faces in the Water," connected the faces and their stories and the names found in the memorial fountain.  I found food for thought in a quote by Robert F. Kennedy on a display wall. The excerpt is taken from The Day of Affirmation Address, University of Capetown , Capetown, South Africa, June 6, 1966.

"Few will have the greatness to bend history: but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events, and in the total of all these acts will be written the history of this generation."

"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage such as these that the belief that human history is thus shaped.  Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."


At the end of our visit we added our names to the Wall of Tolerance:  
Deborah Nelson Linck             Paula Rodriguez. 
 The Wall of Tolerance records the names of people who have made a commitment to work in their daily lives for justice, equality and human rights- the ideals of the Civil Rights Movement.  




Last stop Montgomery

Montgomery
Final leg of the journey


The 50.2 mile car ride from Selma to Montgomery was marked with historic signs commemorating the trail of the 1965 march for voting rights.  
Once settled in, we made a few calls and connected with art collector and Gallery owner Marcia Weber.  Marcia extended her southern hospitality and agreed to meet us at her Gallery to talk about some of our favorite self-taught artists and introduce us to some new folks.  We spent the better part of the afternoon exchanging stories and going through the rooms of the gallery taking in all the art we could.  Marcia knows many of the artists personally and gave us a real taste of the personalities behind the paintings and sculptures we love.  Needless to say we could not resist giving some new works a new home.  

The historical part of our tour ended with a driving tour to photograph popular civil rights sights and visit others.  First stop, the Rosa Parks museum.  The tour began with a brief video of people who remembered the bus boycott in Montgomery and informative talk by a museum  tour guide.  The museum opened to a bus exhibit and reenactment  that  took us back in time to the events that lead to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.   The museum was beautifully designed and  the life-size figures, interactive videos and original documents from police arrests, correspondences from Dr. King and city leaders, news articles and photographs left us with a deeper understanding of the many foot soldiers and participants that worked together to end segregation on the Montgomery buses and planted seeds for future protests. 

 

Montgomery Sightseeing....



Freedom Riders Museum 






Dexter Avenue Baptist Church 




Sunday, October 13, 2013

The Tin Man

                                          The Tin Man- 
                     a self-taught artist with a lot of heart. 

On our last day in Selma we lucked upon a street fair in the historic district.  We spotted some interesting art work and stopped for a closer look.  To our surprise and delight it was the art of Charlie Lucas-Tin Man.
On our way to explore the historic district we spotted a building that had the Tin Man sign on the outside. We pulled off the road but no one was around and the shop was dark.  We looked at the art on sale at the  street fair and spoke with the two young women who were working the booth.  They shared with us information about Mr. Lucas's book and about his work, and discussed how they were helping to catalogue his art work.  While chatting, another friend   joined  the conversation.  We shared our disappointment that the the Tin Man gallery was not open.  It was then that Mike said, "Oh, I have the keys.  I'll take you if you'd like to see it."  What seemed like only seconds later we were in our car and headed back to the gallery for the treat of a lifetime.
Mike was gracious enough to spend time showing us the collection of art housed in the gallery.  There were hundreds of pieces, large and small, pictures, sculptures, collages, and paintings throughout the space.  
We were able to view the remaining pieces from the recent show "In the Belly of the Ship."  Spending time in the space was the next best thing to meeting the artist.  It was through spending this time soaking in the art that we were able to know and understand the creative genius of Mr. Charlie Lucas.  Out tour ended with a walk around the property to view the art that decorated the outside of the building.  Mr. Mike's hospitality was amazing and we thanked him profusely. We hope our paths cross again.  
A close friend of Mr. Charlie Lucas wrote about her friend, "Charlie Lucas, also known as Tin Man, makes his art with things others have discarded.  Using these castoff materials gives them new life, symbolizing renewal of the object but also recognizing the potential for renewal in each individual."
-Georgine Clarke, former Visual Arts Program Manager
Alabama State Council of the Arts 












Selma Sights

Selma Sights












Selma

Selma
Once settling into our living quarters in Selma we headed straight for the site I most wanted to see, The Edmund Pettus Bridge.
The failure of politicians to allow Blacks the right to vote prompted a series of marches and protests in the 1960s.  One such protest lead to the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson who was protecting his mother and grandfather from assault during a protest.  Inspired to organize, and present their demands to the Governor, a march was planned from Selma to Montgomery, across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.  The march took place on March 7, 1965 and ended in a confrontation that would later be referred to as "Bloody Sunday."   Two weeks later a new march resumed headed by religious leaders that included Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The march covered 54 miles between Selma and Montgomery in four days, this time without confrontation, and ended with a gathering in front of the State Capitol.   
The historical march began at Brown Chapel.




Friday, October 11, 2013

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute






The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
The brochure said to allow about an hour and a half to go through the exhibits.  The museum experience started with a brief video of the history of Birmingham that laid the foundation for the displays in the museum.  The institute had displays of early Birmingham and shared information and visuals of what African American life was like.  Deeper in the museum you are bombarded (effectively)  with visuals and sounds of racist comments, myths believed about Blacks and the hatred and evil that was the "racism of the day." There was the memorable voice of a mother trying to explain to her child "Why?"  It was effective in giving a picture of why Blacks and others joined together to fight to change not only the laws but the ignorance and fear that paralyzed the country.  The Civil Rights Movement was about children, adults, Whites, Blacks, and people of all faiths standing up in the face of death, physical injury and imprisonment for their passionate beliefs.  Exhibits included a view from the Birmingham jail where Martin Luther King wrote his memorable letter, televisions showing the children in Ingram Park being sprayed with water hoses and the burned remains of the bus of the Freedom riders and there was music. Another section concentrated on the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and a video of highlights of the event. A bombed windows from the 16th Street Church and the clothing from one of the 4 young girls killed were thoughtfully displayed.  The winding tour brought us to present day and acts of civil disobedience within the last 20 years.  There were interactive activities for younger museum goers and a display of the  50 year anniversary of the Children's March.  Three hours later we emerged, heads spinning with a strong feeling that we had been a part of history. 

 Farewell to Birmingham.....next stop Selma.

Thursday, October 10, 2013


            Meet artist, prophet, peacemaker Joe Minter Sr. 

One of the places we were anxious to visit in Birmingham was the African Village in America.  The creativity of the self taught artist is fascinating.  Self taught art is also referred to as outsider art and sometimes as primitive or folk art.  The beauty of the art lies in the vision of its creators and their obsessive need to create on and with found objects.  Their art tells a story or has a message. The catch is you have to be open  to see, hear, and appreciate their creations through their non traditional lenses.  Joe had, what he explained, was a vision for creating an African Village.  The extensive collection of his art environment has different themes, slavery, civil rights, segregation, freedom riders, Travon Martin and more.  The following is a selection from Joe Minter's book "To You Through Me:  The Beginning of a Link of a Journey of 400 years." 
     "When I heard that Birmingham was going to build a Civil Rights Museum, I found my stepping stone.  After research however, I found that the main characters were left out of the history.  Characters in the freedom struggle (name some here), the foot soldiers.  We needed the leaders, but without the foot soldiers, the struggle could not have been won. .....Then I thought about the 400- year journey African Americans have survived.
     God gave me the vision of art, to link that 400-year journey to the Africans in America, link that truth to the children who are turning away from us, and I decided to name what I create The African Village in America. ....
     The whole idea handed down to me by God is to use that which has been discarded, just as we as a people have been discarded, and make it visible.  All that was invisible, or thrown away, could be made into something everyone could understand. ...what gets thrown away, has a spirit and could survive and continue to grow. "





more about Joe Minter in the New York Times