Montgomery Alabama: A Civil Rights Mecca

Union Train Station

Great American Volkssport Association (AVA) walk in Montgomery, Alabama.  We did the 8K route.   This being the capital of Alabama and ground zero for the fight for civil rights in the 1960s, to say there is a lot to digest here is an understatement.  My original reason for going here was to visit The National Memorial for Peace and Justice.  The museum was closed but we still got to see the memorial.  Which is a memorial for the lynching victims of the old Jim Crow south.  

Peace & Justice Memorial 

The memorial has 805 coffins suspended from the ceiling of the building.  They represent every county in America where a lynching by white supremacist mob violence occurred.  Over 4400 people were lynched in America from 1877 to 1950.  The names of those lynched from each county are engraved on each coffin.  It was a very moving experience that especially resonates in today's times.  How people can be motivated to do the most awful things through Mob violence. 

Rosa Parks

Although the memorial dominates my memory there is so much more here in Montgomery.  This is also home to the Rosa Parks bus boycott, MLKs church, the Poverty Law Center, union train station, old town Montgomery, and so much more.  By the time of the civil war, Montgomery had 4 slave markets.  

MLK Church

During the walk, we also saw the Hank Williams statue who grew up here.  I forgot to mention the murals, some great artwork on some of the city buildings.  Because of COVID, the streets were mostly empty, but you could see a transformation of the downtown of the city.  Dexter Avenue that leads to the capital has several buildings that are undergoing renovations. 

Alabama Capital

I love walks like this.  You learn so much, but more than that you get a feel for the city. The history of places like this makes up the collective history of America.  Because of the pandemic we took a pass on the museums which will require a return trip.