The National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Atlanta

While there are numerous institutions have explored the Civil Rights struggle, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights (NCCHR) explores both with an emphasis of the historic and thematic connections between the two. In so doing, the Civil Rights movement is considered in the context of worldwide struggles and actions for Human Rights.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was passed on December 10, 1948 as the General Assembly resolutions 217A by the United Nations. A description of the UN document can be found here. A room in the NCCHR is dedicated to delving into these Human Rights and the tragedy of lack of enforcement.

There is so much more, far too much to cover in this blog. The Freedom Riders exhibit honors the multiracial young people, many of them college students, who put their lives on the line in 1961. A lunch counter protest simulation lets visitors absorb how much violence and intimidation the protesters experienced. There is a special exhibit devoted to the 1963 March on Washington where MLK delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech.

Quarter million of us on August 28, 1963

The Problem We All Live With by Norman Rockwell

The artwork of Norman Rockwell was regularly published in the Saturday Evening Post for 43 years. However, the publication had a strict editorial policy that black people could only be shown in subservient roles such as maids or laborers. His last entry in the Saturday Evening Post was a portrait of John F. Kennedy on the cover in December 1963. Frustrated by the policy, Mr. Rockwell moved to Look Magazine under the condition that he would have complete publication autonomy. The painting depicting Ruby Bridges walking to Elementary School in New Orleans escorted by U.S. Marshalls was published as the two page centerfold in the January 1964 issue of Look Magazine. 

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change

WE WILL NOT BE SATISFIED
UNTIL JUSTICE ROLLS DOWN LIKE WATER
AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
LIKE A MIGHTY STREAM

 

Crypts of MLK and CSK

A long reflecting pool done right

Between the two churches stands the Behold Monument by Patrick Morelli commemorating the historic principles that guided the works of Dr. King.

Behold the only thing greater than you

Also inscripted are the words

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. FOR HIS MORAL COURAGE AND NOBILITY OF SPIRIT

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, also known as the King Center, is located next to the old Ebenezer Church and across the street from the new Ebenezer Church.

The Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta

The old Auburn Avenue church since 1922 

 In the First Book of Samuel (1 Samuel 7:12), the prophet Samuel sets up and names a large stone Ebenezer.  The stone served as a lasting reminder to celebrate God helping the Israelites to defeat the Philistines. The name Ebenezer has since been adopted as a symbol of God's help and guidance for this and many other houses of worship.

The church was founded in 1886 with thirteen members. It is now categorized as a megachurch with roughly 6,000 weekly attendees. After a few iterations, a much larger church has been created across the street from the Auburn Avenue church. This new building has a new name, the Heritage Sanctuary. The old Auburn Avenue church has been named the Horizon Sanctuary. Both sanctuaries, the house where Martin Luther King, Jr. was born, where he lived, and where he is buried are included in the 39-acre Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park.

Reverend and Senator Raphael Warnock is the senior pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. He frequently returns to Atlanta to give Sunday services. Today, we had the opportunity to hear the sermon of guest preacher, Dr. Thema, Bryant. 

Dr. Bryant received her doctorate in clinical psychology at Duke University, and completed post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical Center's Victims of Violence Program. She is currently serves as a tenured professor at Pepperdine University, and is a former President of the American Psychological Association. Furthermore, she gives a barnburner of a sermon. The topic of her sermon was Trauma, in its broadest sense, including the response to the most distressing and life-threatening events that overwhelm the ability to cope.

The Journey Begins

Today we begin our Civil Rights journey by traveling to Atlanta. After a brief morning walk in Hendersonville, we embarked upon our short trip to Atlanta. We stopped to charge the EV just outside of Atlanta so we would have a "full tank" at our destination. Meanwhile, Jessica's sister Erica caught a flight from SFO to Atlanta to join us for our journey. We called it a day after dinner. Tomorrow is another day.

The Carl Sandburg Home

 

As a poet and biographer, Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) won three Pulitzer prizes. He won two for poetry, and one for history (Abraham Lincoln: The War Years.)

He and his wife Paula chose to escape the Chicago climate by moving to Hendersonville, North Carolina. In 1945, they bought the home they would remain in for the rest of his life. Here, Mr. Sandburg could devote himself to his writing, and Paula could pursue her many interests, especially raising goats on the farm.

There was nothing pretentious about their home. It housed 12,000 books and current issues of numerous issues of newspapers and publications.

Paula kept meticulous files profiling the pedigree of her hundreds of goats. It was a working home, designed around each of their pursuits.

Carl Sandburg died on July 22, 1967 in the company of his wife in her bedroom. His last word was reported to be "Paula." The next year, Paula sold the home as a National Historic site under the condition that the furnishings would remain exactly as they were. Even a cigar butt remains in the ashtray. The United States Department of the Interior has designated roughly 15 goats as a historic herd, descendants of Paula's goats.

Day 2 continued, to Hendersonville, North Carolina

 With the Pink Cadillac in the rearview mirror, we continue our trek south toward Hendersonville, NC to visit our friends, Meg and Irwin. We were close friends in Cleveland. Then they moved to Hendersonville about five years ago. We arrived in time for dinner, and what a spread they had prepared, much of it grown in their garden.

Fresh veggies and BBQ chicken and swordfish shish kabob

Day 2, to Lexington, Virginia

 Why Lexington, Virginia? Eric's first friend in the sixth grade now lives in Lexington. So, we headed east into the rising sun toward Lexington.

We met him for breakfast at the Pink Cadillac Diner, an institution just south of Lexington. It was great getting together with an old friend and talk about times gone by.

We are in front of the Pink Cadillac Diner

Today is the day we embark on our civil rights tour of the southern United States. We will be visiting friends along the way.  Our car is loaded with everything we need for our three week journey. Today, we head due south through Akron and Canton, southeast Ohio, and into West Virginia where we will spend the night in Lewisburg, just west of the Virginia border. If you should find yourself in Lewisburg for some reason, we highly recommend the Stardust Cafe. Make a point of trying the Forever Curry Chicken.

Eighth and last stop, Montréal, Quebec, Canada

The trip from Toronto to Montréal was a long two days. First, we had to traverse nearly the full length of Lake Ontario. Then we had to travel a similar distance along the Saint Lawrence Seaway from Lake Ontario to Montréal. Total distance was about 320 miles. As discussed in the previous entry, the trip was spectacular. Most of our group headed straight for the airport. We love Montréal, so we stayed over for two nights.

The highlight of our visit was our visit to Monte Royal (Mount Royal) a (little) mountain that rises all of 764 feet, just west of downtown Montréal. The name of the city is derived from the name of this baby mountain. The Chalet du mont Royal is located at the top of the mountain.

Here is an aerial view of the Chalet. what follows a pictures we took around the Chalet.   

  

The citizens of Montréal were kind enough to provide us with steps to get down from the dizzying heights. In the end, we were well rewarded for our efforts. It was a joy to spend a few days in one of our favorite cities. The natives were most tolerant of our fractured French. Actually, they are all bilingual.

As the plane flies, we got home in just a few hours. We were rewarded with one last look at the sights we had seen of the river.

The Saint Lawrence River from 30,000 feet

The Saint Lawrence River

 What's in a name? The word Ontario was given by the by the Iroquois tribe, and translates roughly to "beautiful lake" or "big body of water." This has been so for millennia before Europeans discovered America. The name was adopted by the United States and later by Canada. That name will not be changed with a sharpie or by Google.

Lake Ontario drains into the Saint Lawrence River. Some of the river is not navigable by ships, so canals were constructed in various places to bypass rapids. The name Saint Lawrence Seaway has been given to the combination of the river along with the constructed canals and locks. 

We only went as far as Montréal. Other than the northern lights, the journey down the Saint Lawrence River was the most spectacular part of our trip. Most of the surrounding land is wilderness with abundant wildlife. There are interspersed mansions and castles along the shores and on the islands. Most of our time was spent at the railing admiring the scenery as it went by. Upstream, the river separates Ontario Province from New York State. Further downstream, it separates Ontario Province from Quebec Province.

Snell Lock, Massena, New York

Snell Lock, from above

Snell Lock, from way above

Seventh Stop, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

We traversed the Welland Canal and crossed Lake Ontario overnight, arriving in Toronto the next morning. Toronto is a big, beautiful city that we have visited several times in the past. This visit would be more limited. We traveled in the city on a chartered bus which due to heavy traffic, had two speeds - slow and stop. We did get off the bus and explore some of the downtown architecture by foot. 

A vertical panoramic view

Sixth Stop, Niagara Falls, Canada

 Our ship, the Victory I, could not sail directly to Niagara Falls. That is always considered poor form.

AI generated. No ships were lost creating this picture

Instead, we sailed across Lake Erie from Cleveland to Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada. The Welland Canal begins on the Lake Erie side at Port Colborne, consists of eight locks, and ends at Port Weller on the Lake Ontario side. The canal provides a shipping route that bypasses the Niagara River and Niagara Falls. We took a one hour charter bus ride from Port Colborne to the Canadian side of the falls.

We had been to both sides of Niagara Falls in the past, but we had never taken the tour boat up close and soaking wet to the base of the falls. That was quite an experience - once.

We returned to the ship late afternoon. From there, we would navigate overnight the length of the Welland Canal to Port Weller at the Lake Ontario end of the canal.

Dinner with our travel group aboard the ship with assorted photo bombers

Locks along the Welland Canal