University of Richmond Athletics
Blog: Spider Student-Athletes Take on Civil Rights Trail Tour
10/08/2022 | General, Women's Lacrosse, Spider Leadership
Five spider student-athletes have embarked upon a fall break tour of key civil rights sites throughout Georgia and Alabama as a part of the department of athletics Civic Engagement and Co-Curricular Programming. Beginning in Atlanta, Ga., and traveling to Tuskegee, Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham, Ala., student-athletes will engage through educational tours and speakers from Oct. 7-11.
Day 1 of the Civil Rights Trail Tour
By Maddy Sesay
To start our day we began with breakfast at our hotel in Atlanta, Ga. Once we were fueled and ready to go, we hit the road and made our way to Atlanta's Sweet Auburn neighborhood. Here, we visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. Park Visitor Center to learn about the history of Auburn Avenue, Dr. King's various achievements and see a couple of original artifacts. One of the artifacts that we found of great importance was the mule-drawn wagon used in MLK's funeral procession. The significance of the mule-drawn wagon was that it was an emblem of King's final fight for his Poor People's campaign.
After spending some time at the visitor center, we then walked to MLK's birth home on Auburn Avenue for a tour. Our tour guide, Ranger Carr, told of the history of the house, the lives of the children and the reason behind his legacy. It was fascinating hearing about how King's father influenced his birth, as all of the children were born at home to avoid supporting segregated institutions such as hospitals. The love of integration was furthered by King's experience with racism. We learned that as a young boy, King and his brother, were told by his friend's mother (his friend was white ) that they could not continue playing together, because he and his brother were black. Throughout the home, we were taken through time hearing of the King children's chores, favorite things, and childhood memories. Each memory and fact brought a new perspective to who I viewed MLK to be and established the foundation of his greatness.
Once we concluded our tour of MLK's birth home, we explored the King Center. The outdoor/indoor features of the center served as a tribute to the King family and their accomplishments during their lifetime. Starting with the indoor space dedicated to Dr. King's wife, Coretta Scott King. Coretta Scott King was a talented musician, scholar, activist, and the first African-American woman to receive the Universal Love award. It was amazing to see how Coretta was a hero in her own right and how together she and MLK made a tremendous impact on the world. The outdoor space was beautiful, as it was centered around cascading waterfalls into pools. Each step was marked with a phrase, but altogether the steps read, "We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." Sitting at the edge of the pool was a tomb that contained both MLK and Coretta's remains. Bordering this structure was a wall engraved with King's Six Principles of Non-violence. From there, we walked about two minutes to the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where King's grandfather was the second pastor and King preached his last sermon. The interior has been preserved to replicate the original model of the church during King's last sermon, and the audio of his sermon echoed through the church.
Our final stop of the day was in Tuskegee, Ala. about a two-hour drive from Atlanta, Georgia. Here we learned the significance of Tuskegee as it served as a training base for black pilots, provided educational opportunities, and prioritized keeping the black dollar in the black community. This message of black people, led by Booker T. Washington, of creating their way in segregated society was something I had never learned and wish I had. Within the Tuskegee Airman's Historic Site we had the opportunity to learn about the racial inequity prefacing the allowance of black people in the Air Force. In addition to this, we saw the training planes that would have been used, heard the voices of the airmen, and appreciated the doors that the Redtails opened for us. Overall, a great, informative, and fun first day and I am so excited for tomorrow!
