The US History and APUSH classes went on a field trip to Birmingham. We went to the 16th Street Baptist Church and the Civil Rights Institute Museum. At the 16th Street Baptist Church, the volunteer speaker told us about the time during the Civil Rights Movement. One thing I learned from this man is that Robert Chambliss was the man who put the bomb at the church. I also learned that it took 14 years after the bombing to call him as a suspect. The bombing took 4 innocent young girls lives. They were in the same room and when the fire department found the girls, their tiny bodies were stacked on top of each other. On the documentary film, that we watched before we went to Birmingham, they talked about the bombing, but learning about it from someone who was alive during the Civil Rights movement changed my perspective.
Going to the Civil Rights Institute also changed my perspective of the Civil Rights Movement. My favorite artifact in the whole museum was the music jukebox that was in the beginning of the self guided tour. I spent the most time in the music area because I did not know that music was a big part during this time. In the documentary, the video would show people singing while they were protesting and even singing in a jail cell. The music was all jazzy and and all of the African Americans seemed to be happy while they were singing. They were proud of their musical talents. Another part of the museum that I enjoyed was the big poster of the American flag with faces in between the flag behind it. My first impression of this artifact was that African Americans were not a part of the American society and the people who are behind the flag are trying to be a part of the society, like how they were trying to gain freedom during the movement. I also enjoyed looking at the KKK outfit that they wore. Emory and I were like "This is not a cute outfit to wear, why would they wear that?'
The Civil Rights Field Trip was definitely a good trip to have. It changed my perspective on how the Civil Rights Movement actually was. Looking at all the artifacts made it seem very realistic and showed how African Americans really did fight for freedom and equality. This trip was a different experience for the 11th graders. Staying in school learning about the civil rights movement is very boring. History is history, but actually learning about it at the place where it began made it seem more important.
