A Day in Atlanta
A Day in Atlanta
Day of Travel
Monday May 7, 2001
Monday May 7, 2001
Departing From
No Travel
No Travel
Over breakfast, Trevor and I plot our plan of attack for the day. I want to go the Martin Luther King Jr. Historical Site and Trevor has not been -- so that is item #1. Trevor thinks Stone Mountain Park is something I need to see.
For me this creates an interesting counterpoint.
Growing up in the 1960s there were three major events that shook the decade. One was the Space Race. My Mom made sure we saw most every blast off starting with the Mercury program to the first lunar landing. The visit to Kennedy was an important
A second event was the war in Viet Nam. The war had an important personal impact for a number of reasons. I'll reflect on many of those memories and thoughts when I visit the Viet Nam Memorial in Washington DC.
The third event was the struggle by African Americans to achieve equality. Throughout the sixties, this struggle was in the news every day in some way or another. In our home, there was never any question that racial segregation was wrong and needed to be overturned. But Vista was a rural town with very little ethnic diversity. Sure, there were a fair number of Japanese Americans and Mexican Americans but none in our neighborhood. Mostly I grew up in a very white European environment.
I have always seen Martin Luther King Jr. as a personal hero. I can think of no other American that put so much personally at risk to benefit so many people. He was a role model in his unswerving devotion to achieving his goals. He is a role model in the methods that he employed to accomplish his goals. I am amazed by how many people that attempt to smear his mighty name by repeating meaningless gossip. This man is cut from the cloth of greatness and we are all enriched by his having lived in our midst.
So with that in mind, we headed off for the National Park Service Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site. Trevor and I visited three buildings at the site. The first is the visitor's center. There are a number of static displays that recount the sit-ins, bus strikes, freedom riders, restaurant boycotts using newspaper clippings, television footage, first hand recollections and recordings. About half the display space is given over to recalling what it was like to be African-American in the 1950s. It is very hard to view these exhibits. Within my own lifetime, the injustice that was routinely practiced is shocking. Of course, I knew but the intensity of the presentation allows no blinking, no swerving of your glance. There is no dilution of the horror. Only a strong and proud people maintain a spirit through such intolerance.
A thirty minute video presentation titled "A New Voice" makes all the feelings stronger. The film culminates with the final third of the famous "I Have A Dream" speech delivered so recently on the Mall in Washington.
We cross the street to the Ebenezer Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Sr. was pastor and his son served as co-pastor. A real treat is in store. The church is being restored so we are unable to see the inside of the building. But we have the wonderful luck to be told the story of this church and its pastor by a woman who remembers the Martin Luther Kings from her childhood. To hear aspects of the story told in the first person hammers home the feelings raised at the visitor's center.
The last stop is the King Peace Center. The public spaces hold Martin Luther King's Nobel Peace Prize. There is also a room dedicated to Mahatmas Ghandi and the impact that the struggle against the British had on King's philosophy of nonviolence. Our last stop is King's tomb and perpetual flame.
On our way to Stone Mountain, we stop at The Varsity for a burger. This was my idea and again Trevor I offer my apologies. I had seen a story about this place on the Food Channel and decided we should go when I saw the sign. Well despite being the 'fun place to eat' there was little joy at our table. We both had the burger / fries / Coke(tm) combination. The fries were limp and greasy. The burgers were midway between a McDonalds Big Mac and a White Castle burger in size. I was still hungry when we finished ( I think Trevor was too, but he wouldn't say) so I decided to indulge a craving I had for a hot dog. I had no idea you could buy hot dogs that were so small.
We clear the table and move on to Stone Mountain.
My knowledge of Stone Mountain is some how dominated by its use by the Klu Klux Klan for rallies. I knew that the giant granite mountain had three Confederate soldiers carved into one side. Actually not soldiers, heroes. I think one is Robert E. Lee and one is Jefferson Davis. For the life of me, I can't remember who the third is. What I didn't know is that this is a massive recreational facility. There is a golf course. There are plantation mansions restored for viewing. There is a aerial cable car that takes you to the top of the mountain. From the top, you get an excellent view back to Atlanta and down on the lake and park.
Back at Trevor's house, Trevor prepares his patented oft-requested spaghetti with meat sauce. It is excellent and it is so nice to smell food cooking for the first time in weeks. A home cooked meal is a real treat. Thanks Trevor for all your hospitality.
As a child, I hated American History, particularly prior to the 20th Century. My recollection of the Civil War era is very one-dimensional. The South was evil and had slaves. The North realizing the moral corruption of the South set out to end slavery. The South would not let go and left the Union. The North declared war and ultimately won. Slavery ended and everything was good. But of course it wasn't and it took another hundred years to provide the fundamental rights of vote and real legal equality. It may take another hundred years for equality to pass into common practice.
About ten years ago, I read a novel by Rita Mae Brown a Virginian and one of my favorite authors. Her novel, Six of One, is the story of a woman that wants to fight in the war and dresses as a man to enlist. Ultimately she falls in love with a male office thus providing the emotional spine of the story. In the background, Ms. Brown tells a different view of the Civil War. In her view, and perhaps the view of many Southerners of the time there was also the issue of economics. Slavery was viewed as essential to the economic well-being of the region. The events leading to the war were as much a struggle between north and south for dominance of the country as it was about the morality of slavery.
This was the first time that the Civil War had depth.
All of that would be just history trivia if it didn't still resonate in so many corners of our society.
Mississippi has just voted to retain its flag that prominently includes the stars and bars of the old Confederate national flag.
The debate about affirmative action uses code words like "quotas" which is just white-speak for they want our slice of pie. The 'they' is variously defined in different places and at different times. It could be Hispanic Americans in Los Angeles, or Asian Americans at a California university or African Americans on a police promotion exam.
What is up in Cincinnati? Why is a white police department beating up on black people? What was the statistic: Of the last eight office involved shootings, all (that's 100%) involved a white officer shooting a black citizen.
A bumper sticker somewhere in Mississippi: Stars and Bars flag and the words "Heritage not Racism". Hmmm, maybe for that one person but I don't think that is the real objection.
I recall my conversation with the two African American men in Orlando. One was old enough to remember the end of segregation. The other is young enough to have grown up in the years since Selma and Birmingham. Both think that considerable progress has been made and it is a better world for them. But both think that one of the things that is making American less prejudice is the loss of clear distinctions as we intermarry. The lines are less clear. Both feel that the whole issue won't be over until issues don't become polarized along racial or ethnic lines.
Do we really think we are good enough at being multicultural to send troops to Yugoslavia to show them how to do it?
Its interesting to see how other countries deal with this issue in particular Australia and South Africa. In Australia the big issue is between Europeans (and lately Asians) and the Aborigines. A reconciliation commission has been working for some time to find a way to settle a tangle of conflicts. In South Africa, the new Constitution specifically includes gay, lesbian and transgendered people as full citizens. In addition, the decades of atrocities committed by all sides during apartheid was reviewed by a truth commission.
I'm not sure where this leaves us. Clearly we are all better off but the job is not complete yet. Its easier when the economy is sound. Just look at what California did with Proposition 187 during the last economic downturn (as one example). Today we all need to be vigilant against the quiet dark forces of the Bush Administration. We should not be confused by words like compassion or token personalities. This administration is about restoring and maintaining the status quo.
Next Up: Atlanta to Asheville.
(c) 2001 Thomas N. Engler Revision Date: 05/07/2001
