Every Martin Luther King Jr. weekend prior to this one, I’d go skiing with my friend or sit at home and enjoy my day off from school. This year I did something different; I visited the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia.
White and Colored. Those are the first two words you see walking into the exhibit. These two impactful words were written in script in neon lights. Behind the “White” light were photographs of smiling white people at weddings, eating watermelon, and dancing.
Behind the “Colored” light were photographs of black protesters, families, and an all black Atlanta baseball team. Immediately, there was a very visual distinction between “white” and “colored.”
The exhibit moved through different historical events of the Civil Rights Movement: the Freedom Riders, the Woolworth’s Lunch Counter sit-ins, the bombing in Birmingham in which four young girls were killed while in Sunday School, and finally the March on Washington. As an observer of the exhibit and the people around me, I noticed how parents were showing the different racial injustices to their children. One part of the exhibit showed the different Jim Crow Laws for each southern state. A black family approached me while I was looking at the Jim Crow Laws for Georgia, and they asked me if these were the laws for Georgia. I replied yes they were. The young daughter said that it wasn’t Georgia, in a slight tone of disbelief. Her mother showed her that it was and she looked deeply into the signs that said “Whites Only.”
During a part of the exhibit that showed the guidelines for “non-violent” protest, a white father motioned for his children to read the sign. He looked at the training that protesters had to go through in order to be prepared for the worst possible situations. While there were different families with different perspectives and personal experiences with civil rights, there was a commonality in the fact that the parents I saw wanted to teach their children about a crucial moment of America’s history.
The room that was powerful to me was the March on Washington room. On a large wide screen were images of men, women, blacks, whites all holding hands singing together. Young black boys smiled on the shoulders of their fathers. The room was filled with the booming voices of A. Philip Randolph, John Lewis, and finally Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Free at last, Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last,” cried King. I had chills as the marchers sang a gospel song about freedom. A white woman next to me was crying.
At the end of the exhibit, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared on an old tv saying that Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated. There were pictures of King with Jesse Jackson and other activists on the very balcony on which he was assassinated. These photographs were followed by ones of King laying in his own blood. The exhibit ended with a memorial for King, his legacy celebrated through his words and his actions. As I was taking a picture of a portrait of King, an elderly white man noticed what I was doing. He walked over to me and said in a southern accent, “Now that’s a good idea.” He took out his phone and snapped a couple of shots as well.
Going to this exhibit and witnessing the diverse group of people who, like myself, wanted to learn more about the Civil Rights Movement made me appreciate King in a way that I had never before. To see King’s impact visually not only through the exhibit but through the people that his sacrifice and work has impacted. Every person in society has been positively influenced by King’s message of peace and justice. While we certainly have more work to do to create an equitable society, we would not be where we are today without Martin Luther King Jr.
This weekend I encourage each one of you to think about how your life might be different if the civil rights activists who fearlessly fought to secure equal rights had not done so. This year I came to realize the importance of this holiday weekend and why we must take the time to remember such an influential man and time.
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