The Road to Selma

When Grandma and Grandpa come to town we find ourselves packed into the minivan loaded with snacks for some kind of road trip.  This time, we made our way north to Selma, AL.  Grandma and Grandpa had seen the recent movie about this sleepy little town and wanted to check it out for themselves.

We decided to stay the night in Montgomery and then head into Selma.  I'm so glad we did...  We had visited Montgomery a few months earlier over the MLK holiday when we unknowingly stumbled into the 50th anniversary of the now infamous march from Selma to Montgomery to secure voting rights for African Americans.

Well, as luck would have it, we ended up back in Montgomery for the culmination of the celebration. The marchers originally entered the capital on March 24th and held a rally on March 25th, the morning we were headed into the city.  Roads were blocked off again and police were gearing up for a major event.  I felt right at home, having maneuvered these same barricaded streets just a short time ago.  I knew exactly where the free parking would be.

We were early, which was a good thing.  We got to see them setting up.  Oprah and Pres. Obama stayed home this time, but Dr. King's daughter was scheduled to speak.  We caught the first tour of the church and were well on our way to Selma before the marchers started re-creating their march to the capitol.

I really liked this cross walk filled with footprints headed towards the capitol...

The original pulpit from the 1800's.  The pews were original too. 

I find it really beautiful that these ideas started and ended at churches...

Crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge.  It's hard explaining what happened here, but there is a beautiful spirit and I think that helped the boys understand.  We made the march backwards, but it didn't matter.  I'm grateful we could experience some history, see more of this state, and be with family.