One thing I absolutely LOVE about moving so much, is that we get to see some pretty amazing things everywhere we go. Right now we're in Prattville, AL which is only 10 miles from Montgomery, AL where the civil rights movement began. What better way to spend Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, than to visit his church, where he marched, where the entire movement started (Rosa Park's bus stop), & teach my kids about this important part of American history.
We started out at Rosa Park's famous bus stop. There was a kind homeless man there that gave us an amazing "tour" of the area & taught us all SO much about this wonderful woman.
Our "tour guide" then took us to the famous Mongomery Fountain located just across the street from the famous bus stop. It was known as the Court Square & was the largest slave trade square in the US. He told us sad stories of what happened to people during that time period & it was SO good for my kids to listen & understand what the world was like then. I love giving them the opportunity to learn about hard & terrible things. History is fabulous. We read it, study it, & LEARN from it. We talked with each of them about how we could do our part to make sure that part of history doesn't ever happen again.
After visiting the fountain & Rosa Parks, we headed over to the first white house of the confederacy, which is more of a "civil war" site rather than a "civil rights" site, but it was right in the middle of everything so why not?
After that, we visited the Dexter King Memorial Baptist Church, the very church that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a pastor for. It was a beautiful church & it was great sharing stories & history about this great man with my kids.
Below the church is a great little museum dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. & the kids enjoyed getting to know him better through that as well.
We also got interviewed by the news. Of course they wanted to interview ME! Not Trek, not the kids, ME . . . the cry baby. And yes, I bawled as I talked about what Martin Luther King Jr. meant to me. I just hoped I cried enough that they wouldn't air it on the State news. No such luck. I had several friends, neighbors, & even my kids' teachers calling me to tell me they saw me on the news! SO embarrassing.
After visiting the church, we talked to the kids about the Selma March, where it took place, why it took place, what happened, etc.
The Selma March began in Selma & ended on the steps of the State Capital Building. The AL state capital is beautiful. We were SO blessed to be able to talk to the kids about this march on the steps of that very capital it took place on.
It was a beautiful day. I am SO very grateful for the many many brave men & women who fought so hard for equal rights in this country & am SO happy I got to share this day with my family.
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