While passing through Montgomery, Alabama we made a point to visit my friend Cindy. It had been almost 14 years since I last saw her. We lived right across the hall from each other in the East Cambridge apartments at BYU. She is such a warm, friendly southern sweetheart! Her smile is infectious and she has the kindest heart. We have kept in touch over the years and it was so nice to finally be able to meet her wonderful husband and four sons.
My kids had a blast playing with her sons! It was such a blessing being able to get out of the van for a while and let the kids play. They treated us to pizza, cantaloupe and cookies. That cantaloupe came in real handy later when Alyssa and I were the only ones still awake as we drove. (Cantaloupe never tasted better!) Wish I had taken a photo of her whole family before her sweet baby went to sleep. Her husband, Cameron, was kind enough to take these photos for us. He is a great guy and I really enjoyed our conversation. It was so nice to relax and catch up with such a lovely friend. Thank you so much Cindy! Hoping to see you guys again before another 14 years goes by!
Since our trip schedule was so off we ended up not getting to any of the places in Montgomery, AL we wanted to check out until after they were closed. We did make a point to at least drive by the points of interest we planned to go check out. First stop was Dexter Avenue Parsonage where Martin Luther King Jr lived while he served as minister of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church from September 1954 to February 1960.
Next stop (only 0.5 miles away) was the First White House of the Confederacy. I had no idea this even existed until we planned our trip through Montgomery. After living in the south for the last four years I am not surprised one bit that there was a Confederate White House.
Right across the street is the Alabama State Capitol Building which was built in 1850. It served as the first Confederate States of America Capitol from February 4th until May 29th 1861 when the capitol moved to Richmond, Virginia. Jefferson Davis took the oath of office as the only President for the Confederate States of America. Next time we hope to take a tour.
My friend Cindy's husband, Cameron, works as a lawyer here for the State of Alabama. All of the Alabama state government buildings are white washed like this. Odd to see white buildings everywhere in downtown Montgomery.
One block from the Alabama State Capitol Building is the charming Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. This beautiful brick church was completed in 1889 and was in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Martin Luther King Jr served as the pastor here from 1954 to 1960. He organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott from inside this church's basement offices.
I was really bummed that we had to completely cut out visiting Selma, Alabama since we were a day behind in our move. We planned to travel along the route taken in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery Marches stopping in Selma to visit the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute.
On March 7, 1965, "Bloody Sunday", about 600 civil rights marchers were attacked by state and local police using nightsticks, tear gas, etc as they peacefully marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to protest the lack of voter's rights. People were so outraged by the police brutality against nonviolent protesters that two more marches were organized.
On March 25, 1965 the final march was led by Martin Luther King Jr from Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge to the steps of the Alabama State Capitol. Upon those steps Dr. King spoke to a crowd of 25,000 telling them that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Little did he know that five months later the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would pass.
The photos below are of the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail as we drove from Montgomery through Selma that evening.
On March 7, 1965, "Bloody Sunday", about 600 civil rights marchers were attacked by state and local police using nightsticks, tear gas, etc as they peacefully marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to protest the lack of voter's rights. People were so outraged by the police brutality against nonviolent protesters that two more marches were organized.
On March 25, 1965 the final march was led by Martin Luther King Jr from Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge to the steps of the Alabama State Capitol. Upon those steps Dr. King spoke to a crowd of 25,000 telling them that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Little did he know that five months later the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would pass.
The photos below are of the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail as we drove from Montgomery through Selma that evening.
We plan to visit Montgomery, Alabama again so we can go inside each of these historical sites. We hope to learn more about the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama and how it helped to shape our nation.
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