Solivagant

UK - 28-Aug-24 -

The announcement  that the Lincoln Memorial is to be added to the Civil Rights Movement T List entry has prompted me to post a review of my first visit to it EXACTLY 61 years ago on 28 Aug 1963 - the very day of the "March on Washington", the event which has led to the memorial's nomination! I was a 20-year-old UK undergraduate traveling and working in the US across his 3 month summer vacation. My diary observations, scribbled throughout the day, together with some additional research into both the March and the Memorial might be of interest.

There was significant concern that violence would erupt and my parents and employers cautioned against making the journey down from NYC. 1963 had already been a violent year and, just 18 days later, 4 young girls were to be killed in a KKK bombing atrocity at the 16th St Baptist Church in Birmingham AL (also included in this T List site)..  As it turned out, Washington was relaxed and friendly on that glorious summer day. Large numbers of police had been deployed, but their presence was in no way oppressive - indeed, to me, it was hardly noticeable and no violence occurred. I made my way along the route of the March up to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial (photo). Unsurprisingly, there were relatively few “whites” in the crowd - but neither were they totally absent. I have often since perused the news videos of those long ago events to try to find that fresh faced youth sitting near the front. Although there are others looking a bit like him in their period haircuts, he never appears!

The "March" had memorable musical performances by many of the "greats" of their era and hearing them was a major part of my overall experience. Some performed before the main program (even along the route) and others were interspersed with the political speeches. I noted (and have found videos of) ones by Mahalia Jackson , Odetta, Marian Anderson, Peter Paul & Mary and Joan Baez.. My diary also mentioned speeches by Burt Lancaster and Harry Belafonte.  On all of them look at the hope in the faces of the audience. Jackson is now the "star" for me - do not miss both of her hymns through to the end. What a performance - indeed it is said that, immediately afterwards, whilst standing behind MLK on the podium she persuaded him to put the "Dream" reference into his speech! At the time, however, it was the 22 year old Bob Dylan I noted most. He performed “Only a Pawn in their Game” and I even wrote down some of the words! (In 2016 Dylan received the Nobel Prize for Literature for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition" with "refined rhymes" and "surreal imagery") - you can see him playing it here  (scroll down to video). 

Dylan's song has a history relevant to this TWHS beyond its airing at Washington. Its subject is the murder of Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers in Jackson, MS on June 12 1963. He died a few hours later in hospital having initially been refused admission because of his race. By June 21 an arrest had been made but, in Feb/Apr 1964, 2 all-white juries failed to reach a verdict and the accused wasn’t found guilty until another retrial 30 years later. Meanwhile, Dylan had written this song about the killing and first performed it on July 6. So its performance at Washington on Aug 28 concerned a very recent (and indeed “ongoing”) event. Note that the “Medgar and Myrlie Evers House” in Jackson MS, where the assassination took place, is another of the sites currently identified for nomination (The widowed Myrlie Evans was to have been given a chance to speak at Washington but traffic delays prevented it). The song’s subject and performance generated some criticism as the “lyrics attribute blame for the killing and other racial violence to the rich white politicians and authorities who manipulated poor whites into directing their anger and hatred at black people” (Wiki). Apparently Dylan never sang it after 1964.

I still have my copy of the official program of speakers (Front, Inside) but was unaware of the decision making which took place up to the very last minute regarding who should take part and what they should say. The organisers were desperate to avoid the airing of "extreme" views, so - no Malcolm X  (he would deride the March as "The farce on Washington"). And not even James Baldwin, the premier black writer of his era, and a major Civil Rights activist. Among those I noted in my diary were - Ruth Carol Taylor the “First negro air hostess” (sic, in the culturally acceptable words of the 1960s). And then Rosa Parks was introduced to us - but no speeches from either. In fact, the entire event and much of the surrounding Rights Movement is nowadays heavily criticized for failing to give women fair representation, despite their significant role at the work-face of “Rights” activity. My diary does however mention a fiery speech by Revd Fred Shuttlesworth which wasn't even on the program! Fred also has a connection to another of the Civil Rights Movement T List locations - the "Bethel Baptist Church" in Birmingham AL where he was Pastor from 1953-61 and survived several attempts on his life. So, what of the "iconic" lengthy 16 minute (he was only "allocated" 4!) speech of Martin Luther King? (The 2nd future Nobel Laureate present on that day - for "Peace" in 1964). It is a continuing regret of mine but it didn't even gain a mention in my diary! I was not alone in this - even the Washington Post didn't properly report it! After the speeches, I returned along the length of the National Mall, still thronged with people on either side of the Reflecting Pool and on to the Mound of the Washington Memorial. As I remember it, the mood was generally one of “satisfaction” - We have made our point, peacefully, and now it is over to you, USA!

How is the inclusion of the Lincoln Memorial within this T List entry justified? The entire nomination relates solely to "locations of iconic events in the mid-20th century civil rights movement for African Americans in the USA". The current 11 locations cover events between 1951 and 68 from the Desegregated Education campaign at the 3 Schools (Moton (Farmville VA) '51, Monroe (Topeka SC) '54 and Little Rock '57) through to that for Voting Rights in 1965 at Selma (Pettus Bridge) via the Alabama Human Rights movement HQ 1956-61 at Bethel Baptist Church Birmingham and the Freedom Rides of 1961 (Anniston Bus Terminal). The Washington March and the bombings at 16th St  Baptist Church Birmingham and the Evers Home Jackson all occurred in 1963. MLK was pastor at the Dexter Av Montgomery and Atlanta Ebenezer Baptist churches from 1954-60 and 1960-68. The further 2 locations "under consideration" relate to '60 (Woolworths - Greensboro Sit-ins) and '68 (Lorraine Motel - MLK murder).

The inclusion of the "Memorial" is thus entirely “associative” as the “end point”, and location for the speeches, of the March rather than for any reference to Lincoln's earlier role in ending slavery. Indeed, the Memorial lacks any tangible reference to that issue. Its primary purpose was as a national shrine to celebrate the preservation of the Union - “In this temple as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever”. The Emancipation Proclamation isn't quoted - only the Gettysburg and the Second Inaugural Addresses whose subjects were national unity and reconciliation!  Discussions about a memorial to Lincoln started as early as 1867, were actively pursued in the 1900s and only passed Congress in 1910 with some concern that it would actually exacerbate division on what was still a very raw issue. It was constructed from 1914-22. so was a mere 41 years old at the time of the “March on Washington”. Its creation took place in a still deeply divided society - even at its dedication ceremony the attendees were segregated by race and the KKK were working at the same time on a Confederate Memorial at Stone Mountain GA. Originally the intention was that the March would end at the Capitol but this was regarded as too "confrontational" (Compare Trump's "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard")!! The Lincoln Memorial had been used for events related to the Civil Rights struggle before, most notably in 1939 for a "desegregated" performance by Marian Anderson (making her appearance in 1963 even more "special", both in itself and for its demonstration of how little had changed in 24 years) so, as a convenient, memorable location for a gathering, it got chosen this time too, with the Washington Memorial as the starting point (but NOT included within the entry).  

And how significant was the March in moving US Race Relations forward? This is "contested territory"! It probably had little or no direct role in the passage of the Civil Rights legislation initiated by JFK in Jun 1963 (whereas a violent event might well have had the opposite effect, as was certainly feared by JFK). It took JFK's assassination and the coming of the southern President Johnson to bring about the negotiated compromises which finally got the Civil Rights Act through in July 1964 after appearing to be "dead in the water" only a short time before. The March would mostly seem to owe its “special” place in Civil Rights history for its peaceful symbolism and the long term iconic impact of those 4 words of MLK - “I have a dream!”. 

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PS. At the risk of boring the younger travelers than I, who make up the greater part of the cohort contributing to this site, some details about traveling to and around the US from Europe on a “shoestring” in those far off days seem worth recounting to provide comparison and contrast with those of contemporary travel. For those of you NOT interested in “old men’s tales”- move along, there is nothing for you here!

Nowadays the USA is a very “mundane” destination, but, in 1963, a visit to it wasn’t an achievable dream for the vast majority of UK citizens - Transatlantic air travel was very expensive and US living costs were way higher than those of UK. Jet flights had started in Oct 1958 but the relevant Airlines (and Nations) were still very restrictive over anything which might create price competition. “Laker Airways” didn’t start “no frills” cheap transatlantic travel on “Skytrain” until 1977…… but, meanwhile, one loophole existed in the airline monopoly power - the “Affinity Group Charter” by which an organization having some purpose other than selling travel could charter a plane and offer its members flights at “cost” if doing so was related to its prime raison d’etre. Thus it was that, during late June/early July 1963, some 1530 students from multiple UK universities who had joined (and probably done nothing else!) the newly formed “British Universities North America Club” (BUNAC), set off from UK on around 10 flights for their individual “adventures” - with a return flight arranged for 3 months later. My Aer Lingus flight to “Idlewild Airport, New York” landed at Shannon and Gander, Newfoundland on the way across - the latter being completely normal and required for refuelling during the long flight westward “against the wind” by those early jets!!

There will have been 1530 different travel tales, with mine nothing particularly "special" - Like the majority, I planned a trip which involved getting a job somewhere in US, on arrival or pre-arranged, and then gaining both that “experience” and the money to pay for the entire trip by working across a percentage of the 3 months and traveling for the remainder. Student exchange visas or similar didn’t exist - if you wanted to work in US you applied for a Work Visa and got a “Green Card” after an interview at the embassy, just like any other “immigrant”. Then that wasn’t really a problem, as quotas of such visas issued to different nationalities were still based on early 20th C immigration volumes and, in 1963, UK had plenty of “spare”! I still have my “Green Card” - no longer valid of course, but I do think of how easy it then was for me compared with its current enormous value and significance to many people desirous of emigrating to US, and the efforts they make to obtain, or get in without, it…..

The Charter flight cost £59 return ….. peanuts now, but the 2024 UK equivalent is c£1550 (c 1840 Euro/ US $1940) - showing that even the “cheap” charter ticket was way above what one would pay nowadays for an economy LHR-NYC return. This PanAm 1963 timetable (page 18) shows a standard economy return NYC-LHR "by jet" as costing  US $499.70 (£180 at the then c2.80 rate, i.e c3 times my “charter rate”) and having an equivalent 2024 “purchasing power” of cUS $5000. Even what I did pay represented around 6 weeks gross wages from the manual factory job I did for a year between School and University. I quickly got a job in NYC cooking knishes and burgers at a restaurant on Coney Island for the then minimum wage of $1.15 per hr (now $15)! Around 6 weeks of that paid both for NYC living and the final c6 weeks of travel. My nights at the wonderfully situated 34th St YMCA (now converted into apartments!) were a mere $2.40. The long-gone Subway token was 15C (Now $2.90 using a cell phone!) . Contact with "home" was maintained in those days by airmail and "General Delivery" taking an uncertain 3 or 4 days each way - the lack of “direct dialing” and the cost meant that a transatlantic phone call would only have been justified in a real emergency!

I used the amazing value go anywhere "$99 for 99days" Greyhound bus ticket (then c£35 equivalent) for around 5+ weeks crossing the US approx NYC - Boston - Niagara - Chicago - St Louis - Denver - Salt Lake City - Spokane - Seattle - Vancouver - Lake Louise - San Francisco, returning eastward via LA - Grand Canyon - Santa Fe/Taos - El Paso - Dallas - N. Orleans - Atlanta - Williamsburg - Philadelphia - NYC. There were a lot of overnight buses - which also saved on hotel bills of course! "Y's" were then the "hotel" of choice for budget travelers (Not a role they still carry out) and the alternative downtown "flop houses" at similar prices (or less) near to bus stations were best avoided. One wouldn't even think of looking for a cheap bed in a city centre today. I noted a "dingy room" near the SF bus terminal (then on 7th at Market & Mission where the Federal Building is now situated), found on arrival at midnight for $1.50 but quickly evacuated the next morning for the Embarcadero Y at $2.79! To avoid the problem I would take a night bus out for around 4hrs and then catch the next bus back that night to the same city. A regular expense was 20c for a left luggage locker. Bus Terminal “Rest Rooms” permitted the maintenance of a modicum of hygiene - Happy days!.

Prebooking of hotels or buses wasn't really practicable with available communication methods but I never remember anywhere being fully booked or too crowded. The US population has of course risen 87% since then (184.6-345.7m). The Interstate Highway system had only been initiated in 1956 (and wouldn't be complete until 1992) so most journeys were on the Classic "Route nn" highways through every small town.  The budget restaurant scene has also changed greatly. Not just prices, which can be explained (at least partly) by the change in hourly wage (Coffee then was 10c, a full breakfast around 60c and a lunch/dinner around 80c -$1.10) but also the relative lack of national (let alone international) "fast food" brands - a concept which was only just taking off, to expand massively in the late '60s and '70s. Thus, in 1963, McDonalds only had outlets in California and Illinois (I don't remember it) and the "Big Mac" wasn't invented until 1967! I particularly remember one period feature in those independent family-owned restaurants/diners - the table-top juke box!  In August 1963 these were the "hits" which would have been available. (But - a "revolution" was about to occur - look at April 1964 !) 

Being limited to bus routes and timetables was a major constraint and a lot got missed out.  The entire trip only picked up 7 subsequently inscribed WHS  - Statue of Lib, FLW (Gugg, then under 4yrs old), Can Rockies, R'wood, G Canyon, Taos, Indep Hall.  Car Rental wasn’t available to a 20 yr old (who didn't even got a UK license and car for another year!) and my diary records a frantic search in the Flagstaff bus terminal for someone over 21 to help rent a car to get out to the Grand Canyon!. I did 2 more Greyhound based trips taking in Mexico and E Canada but, even by 1963, the great days of bus travel in US were fading. It is difficult now to appreciate the once central role of the “Bus” in US life and its place in movies and literature. In 1963 one could still relate to  Ginsberg and Kerouac and those B+W movies which included a scene showing the “big event” arrival/departure of a bus in small town USA with folks on their way to “somewhere better” or returning to their home town roots…….The town Bus Terminal itself was an important place, situated right in the centre and mostly open across 24 hours. No more it seems…. The Web is full of articles reporting the closure of terminals across the nation and the impending collapse of the US bus system. 

"The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there”. 61 years is a "lifetime" ago - as far away from "now" as 1902 was for me in 1963. Indeed, the World may well have changed more in the latter period than in the former! Travel logistics are certainly very different now..…much easier in many practical respects but also, I fear, less rewarding/pleasant in others. However, the basic rules remain the same - deal yourself a reasonable hand with good planning to meet whatever objectives you have and then play it flexibly to make the most of arising opportunities. Above all - travel with optimism. It would have been a big mistake not to have gone down to Washington on that far off August day!

Kyle Magnuson

California - United States of America - 07-Aug-21 -

While touring the 16th Street Baptist Church, the docent shared stories of segregated Birmingham and the challenges of integration. One of the docents was part of the "Children's Crusade" demonstrations which gathered around 16th Street Baptist Church. Under Alabama law, demonstrators who protested racial segregation were arrested. Police dogs, high-pressure firehouses were used to disrupt these protests, which should be noted were often occurring in or around the 'Black Business District'. My spouse, who only recently became a US citizen was astonished by the extent of the racially segregated architecture, town-planning, and landscape design in Birmingham. She is not unfamiliar with American History, but the racially-based system generally is understood at the surface level (restrooms, schools, restaurants, public pools, drinking fountains). In fact, the boundary of the 'Black Business District' in Birmingham abuts the 16th Street Baptist Church. The grid of Black Birmingham is not hard to trace. In January 2017, Barack Obama designated 15th-17th streets a National Monument, which includes the 16th Street Baptist Church, Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, A.G. Gaston Hotel (newly restored), the Masonic Temple, and Bethel Baptist Church (the later component is 3 miles away). Today, the 16th Street Baptist Church is most associated with and known domestically for the KKK domestic terrorist bombing that killed 4 young girls as they put on their choir robes for Sunday School. The church itself looks "fortress-like" and it is a marvel that it withstood 19 sticks of dynamite fully intact. The docents go to great lengths to show a more complete timeline of the churches long history. It's important to note that the church, along with the A. G. Gaston hotel (a notable establishment in Green Book guides), and the Masonic Temple were prominent pillars of the Black community in Birmingham. Indeed, the Masonic Temple was used by Civil Rights Leaders for its size and its perception as "bombproof".

It may be pertinent to the History just discussed to know that Birmingham's population is 70% Black and in the 1960's before the dismantling of law-based segregation it was majority Black then too. This also manifests itself in local politics, the Sheriff and mayor are Black and have been since the 1970's. This perhaps challenges some stereotypes people have of the South. In fact, the majority of police officer involved shootings of Black men or women are actually far less common in Atlanta, Birmingham, and Montgomery (all Black majority cities) compared to other large urban areas (Baltimore, Chicago, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, etc.) 

The Monroe Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas has been identified as an additional component to the nomination. As named, the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site (managed by the National Park Service), the interpretation, panels, and multimedia are excellent. The park rangers here are collectively phenomenal. Now you might expect that Monroe Elementary School to be a "White Only" school, but in fact it was a school for black children. The next thought visitors (myself included) often have is that the school would be inferior to the nearby "White Only" schools, which is also untrue. Monroe Elementary was virtually identical in size as the "White Only" schools in Topeka, teachers got the same pay, and materials/resources were comparable. Throughout the South you can find numerous examples of the profoundly different quality in "White and Black" schools, including the site in Little Rock. Monroe was specifically chosen for a class action lawsuit because it was the ultimate manifestation of the segregation policy "Separate, but Equal". Segregationists pointed to examples like Monroe as evidence of the equal status afforded citizenry in regards to racial-based infrastructure. If the NAACP could prove with Monroe school that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" then the whole system would begin to collapse. Ultimately, the Supreme Court sided with the NAACP that even in cases like Monroe Elementary the very act segregation itself, not simply the facilities alone, harmed the child. 

I did not tour Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church (just viewed the exterior). However, I will note a couple important facts. Firstly, the location is only steps from the Alabama State Capitol, which is also referred to as the "First Confederate Capitol". Moreover, the steps of the Capitol were the final location of the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965. Confederate Monuments, including statues of Jefferson Davis (President of the Confederacy), and the "First White House of the Confederacy" are located in and around the Capitol Complex (will they survive another decade, I suspect not in their current form). The stark dichotomy of this small brick church within sight of the sparkling white Capitol Complex, which is filled with symbols of the Confederacy? That within itself made the site spatially interesting. One important contextual and often emotional visit that should not be ignored in Montgomery is the Legacy Museum and its associated site "The National Memorial for Peace and Justice" (free shuttle service is available). 

If you are visiting Selma from Montgomery, you will be driving on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Just after crossing the bridge there is a small interpretive center and a couple blocks more is the Brown Chapel AME Church, which played a pivotal role much like other Historic Churches included in the nomination. Every March, commemorations occur to mark the anniversary of "Bloody Sunday". If possible this would be a particularly special time to visit. View this video of the 50th Selma Bridge Crossing Anniversary.

The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park (managed by the national park service) in Atlanta is quite large, but was partially closed because of COVID restrictions when I visited. This site, which has been identified as a component may align with the boundary of the National Historical Park or it may only include Ebenezer Baptist Church. The greater property includes the burial place and childhood home of MLK. Other Human Rights Activists are celebrated throughout the park. Dr. King Sr. was a pastor at Ebenezer and Dr. King Jr. was co-pastor with his father from 1960 to his assassination in 1968.

Many of you know the Lincoln Memorial as one of the common visitor highlights of Washington D.C. As the location of major speeches (MLK was one of ten speakers) given by major Civil Rights Icons during the March on Washington in 1963, it has been proposed for inclusion. There is a plaque on the location where MLK stood when delivering the "I Have a Dream" speech. The symbolism of the Lincoln Memorial in the background on the one hundred year anniversary of the "Emancipation Proclamation" was intentional and plans began in earnest starting in 1961. For those interested, read/listen to the speech "The Problem of Silence" by Rabbi Joachim Prinz (who spoke just before MLK). These eloquent words demonstrate how the Civil Rights Movement was not exclusively a black movement, it was a freedom movement.

As the most expensive high school ever built in the United States until that point (1927), Little Rock Central High School is monumental. The visitor center includes exhibits and information about school integration at this "White-only" school campus following the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Across the street from the visitor center is the preserved 1950's Mobile gas station, which served as a temporary media headquarters when Little Rock found itself on the national and international news in 1957. The commemorative garden is meant to memorialize and honor the "Little Rock Nine". I found myself envisioning the mass hysteria that converged on this campus in residential Little Rock, Arkansas as I walked the grounds. Since this is an active school campus you cannot enter the facility. 

The National Civil Rights Museum like the Legacy Museum in Montgomery is superb, honest, and deeply moving. Located at The Lorraine Motel, the museum is organized to tell the collective story of a nation failing to live up to the ideals written in its founding documents (despite flaws inherent within). Through engaging panels, exhibits (including numerous artifacts) the museum documents the struggle of Black Americans (and other people of conscience) to push the country forward. The video presentation is particularly well-done. This History collides from museum to historic site when you suddenly find yourself on the 2nd floor of the museum at Room 306 and Room 307, the hotel room of Martin Luther King Jr and his colleagues. and the location (balcony) of where he was assassinated on April 4, 1968. The museum was busy and the exhibits continue across the street at the boarding house location (legacy building) of where the gunman fired from a bathroom window. During a return visit in January 2024, the later museum was closed as large-scale construction and renovation occurred which will be completed in 2025.

In regards to world heritage prospects, this will be a highly complex nomination and it has been continuing to evolve over time. Currently, sites in 8 states and the District of Columbia are identified as the most appropriate components. There are inherent controversies, some of which have been discussed here. The reality of racial discrimination, anti-blackness, and racial bias in the United States is one that has proven durable and remains visible to this day. Reflecting on a few essential questions in our national (messy) public discourse over the past few years: How much of the "infrastructure" of White Supremacy has been truly dismantled? How successful was the Civil Rights Movement when so many black leaders were murdered? How has the "Black Panther" organization as another participant of the freedom struggle been demonized and redeemed over recent decades? Therefore, for some it may be problematic to designate a world heritage site that's OUV is directly tied to the dismantling of white supremacist infrastructure as practiced during Jim Crow Segregation. One thing remains constant in the United States, as a nation that will become majority non-white between 2040 and 2050, the United States as the world's most prominent example of a multi-racial Democracy continues to change and evolve. My spouse, who was initially skeptical of a "Civil Rights Movement" world heritage site emerged more supportive after specifically visiting the 16th Street Baptist Church, the Legacy Museum and Memorial in Montgomery, and the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site. Part of her perspective (as she explained) was that more people should know this History, particularly Americans. Often the nuance and complexity of the movement has been lost. In addition, she and I emerged with a stronger understanding of the coalition of people who made the Civil Rights Movement a freedom struggle that welcomed all people of conscience around the World.

Components Visited:

• Martin Luther King National Historical Park [Ebenezer Baptist Church]
• Birmingham Civil Rights National Historic Site [16th Street Baptist Church]
• National Historic Trail Selma To Montgomery [Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church]
• National Mall and Memorial Parks [The Lincoln Memorial]
• National Historic Trail Selma To Montgomery [Edmund Pettus Bridge]
• Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park [Monroe School] 
• Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site 

Read more from Kyle Magnuson here.

Michael Novins

United States - 12-Mar-16 -

In October 2011, after a business trip to Atlanta, GA, I drove to Alabama and visited Birmingham, including the 16th Street Baptist Church and Bethel Baptist Church, which are included in the Civil Rights Movement Sites on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I also visited Rickwood Field, built in 1910 and the oldest surviving professional baseball park in the United States, and Sloss Furnaces, which operated as a pig iron-producing blast furnace from 1882 to 1971 (www.slossfurnaces.com/). After lunch at Irondale Cafe, opened in 1926 (www.irondalecafe.com/), I attended the Talladega 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.