Reflection on the Trip to Birmingham

The trip to Birmingham, most specifically the 16th Street Baptist Church, really opened my eyes about the harsh reality of segregation. Previously, I had heard about segregation and honestly thought that yeah, it was a bad thing but it wasn't just awful when compared to previous tragedies such as slavery. But now I get it, it sucked. The walk through the Civil Rights Museum and viewing the differences between "colored" and "white" water fountains and jail cells and what not. I also learned how messed up even the justice system was in Alabama at the time. They let one man go fourteen years without seeing a courtroom after he almost definitely bombed the church leading to the death of four young girls, and two others were free for almost forty years.

The difference between learning these events in a classroom and going to the place where they happened to somewhat experience it is dramatic. Previously, I had heard about the 16th Street Baptist Church and I learned that it was awful and was something that should have never done, but when you walk into the church and experience it it's almost sacred to know that four young girls lost their lives close to where you are standing and that it was all for a reason that should have never been a thing at all. I do feel as if Randolph 11th graders no matter how busy should still go on this trip. It's very beneficial for us to witness the tragedies that have occurred in previous generations in order to know not to recreate them.

This picture is of NBA star "Big Baby" Glen Davis and he is a stand in for Mason, who in his obsessive state forced us to walk around all of Birmingham while he slandered about Milo's Hamburgers.