Day 3- Still in Charleston

Today by far was my favorite day. (I know it’s only day three, but still). We had a great opportunity to travel around Charleston on a private tour bus. Let me first say that our tour guide made the experience much more personal, educational and factual. He was great at answering any questions that we had and even entertained us with singing, storytelling, jokes and legends. Since it’s hard for you to get a good sense of what our tour guide was like since you’re not with us, but think of him as a cross between Cleveland Brown from the cartoon “Family Guy” and Forrest Gump. But to tell you the truth, I wish he was our bus driver for the entire trip.

So! What we got to see today…well for a period of 90 years Charleston was THE richest city in the United States. I won’t go into the details of how it became this way, but traveling around you can see this wealth. Many of the homes go for well over $1 million with the average home at over $600,000. Even the cities projects look somewhat nice, especially compared to Schenectady New York. (Did I mention how warm it is in South Carolina?). Theres a lot of history on the streets of Charleston, the homes, the cobblestone streets, even the trees. We ended our tour of the city at the Citadel, a military college started in 1842 for the sole purpose of providing the city protection from slave insurrections. (Ohh the irony). But the best part was being able to see my friend Joe Collins at the Citadel, although for only 45 seconds. Seeing the Citadel campus in purpose was pretty cool. It reminds me of a castle. A couple of my classmates must not have understood where we were because they got off the bus and immediately tried to walk into a restricted area and were denied by a soldier. Absolutely hysterical…maybe not for you, but I was there…it was funny.


After stopping at the Citadel we headed to Mt. Pleasant to eat at a restaurant that serves Gullah Cuisine. For those of you who don’t know what Gullah food entails, think Soul Food with the addition of a variety of different rices (INCLUDING RED RICE…I don’t know why I’m excited…I didn’t eat it, it just seems like we talked about it a lot). This particular restaurant was buffet style and had some amazing bread pudding.

The next part of the tour brought us to one of the many Sea Islands just off the coast of South Carolina. When I say just off the coast I mean it, it was like driving on a bridge over a creek. It was on the first island that we visited the Mcleoud Plantation. Although it was much smaller (in terms of acreage) than it originally was, visiting this plantation was eye opening. What made this place special was that although it was owned by the Charleston Historical Society, it was not a museum, there was no gift shop, and admission was free. For a moment it felt like we had traveled back in time to the 18th and 19th century. Everything seemed untouched by today’s society

I'm laggin I know

So keeping up with this blog is definitely a challenge, but I'm hoping to be caught up by tonight....12/7/09. Meaning an analysis of everyday and pictures posted. But be sure to check out our Groups blog at


ublog.union.edu/hst277t

Check it out!!!!!

Our Civil Rights Mini Term Itinerary

If you wonder what we're doing on exactly what day, just look at this...

Civil Rights Public History Miniterm

ITINERARY

Contacts:

Melinda Lawson: Cell phone 518-598-9623

Maggie Tongue: Cell phone: 518-698-9887

Tuesday, December 1: Arrive at Charleston Hotel by 6 p.m.

Andrew Pinckney Inn (named after a freed slave)

40 Pinckney St.

Charleston, S.C.

843-937-8800

Dinner Together

Wednesday, December 2: In Charleston

Breakfast in Hotel

9:15: Leave for Sullivan’s Island (the African American “Ellis Island”)

12:00 Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens (with original slave cabins) for the day (Box

lunch there)

6:00 Dinner

Thursday, December 3: In Charleston

Breakfast in Hotel

9:30 “Sites and Insights” Black History Tour

“This motorized tour …covers Charleston's ubiquitous African American history. You'll see and hear about: Emanuel AME Church, Catfish Row, City Market, The Battery, Old Slave Mart Museum, Site of the Hanging Tree, Aiken-Rhett House, Stories of Gullah Culture, Free Blacks, Denmark Vesey Slave Plot, Civil War, East Side, West Side, The Citadel, City Jail, Old Marine Hospital Building, Philip Simmons Ironworks, Avery Institute and much more.”

12:00 Lunch at Gullah Cuisine

1:00 Sea Islands Tour – James and John Islands; McCleod Plantation (also with slave

cabins)

6:00 Dinner







Friday, December 4: In Charleston

Breakfast in Hotel

Morning Off in Charleston, including lunch

1:00 – 4:30 Walking Tour of Charleston, including Liberty Square (Septima Clark and

Esau Jenkins Memorials)

Tour the Aiken-Rhett House (urban slavery)

Tour the Slave Mart Museum

Tour the Avery Institute

6:00 Dinner

Saturday December 5th: Depart Charleston for Atlanta at 9 a.m.

Breakfast in Hotel

9:00 Pick up by Charter Bus: Holiday Tours, Inc. Randleman, NC

Saturday December 5, 2009: Arrive Atlanta by 3:00 p.m. (includes lunch break)

Emory Conference Center Hotel

1615 Clifton Road

Atlanta, Ga. 30329
404-712-6000

6:00 Dinner

Sunday December 6: In Atlanta

8:00 Depart for Atlanta King Center

8:00 Box Breakfast on the Bus

8:20 Arrive King Center (in line for tickets to tour King’s birth home)

9:00 Tour King Center and Birth Home

1:00 Lunch

2:30 Back at Hotel

3:00 Meet with Charles Person. Mr. Person was active in the sit-in movement and was

one of the original 1961 Freedom Riders

6:00 Depart For Dinner (Meet in Lobby)

8:00 Back at Hotel

9-11 Activities/ Games at Hotel (Bowling, pool and billiards, etc.)

Monday December 7: In Atlanta; Depart for Montgomery

9:30 Meet in Lobby – out to Breakfast

11:00 Meet with Reverend C.T. Vivian at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Rev. Vivian was a

major Civil Rights leader and close ally of Martin Luther King Jr.

12:30 Lunch in Atlanta

Monday, December 7: Depart Atlanta approx. 2 p.m.

Monday, December 7: Arrive Montgomery approx. 4 p.m. CST

Wingate by Wyndham

2060 Eastern Blvd.

Montgomery, AL 36117

334-244-7880

6:00 Dinner

8:00 Movie: “The Long Walk Home”

Tuesday December 8: In Montgomery

Breakfast in Hotel

8: 30: Depart for Attractions

9:00- 10:30 Rosa Parks Library and Museum

10:45: Greyhound Freedom Rides Exterior Exhibit

210 South Court Street

11:00: Dexter Ave. Memorial Baptist Church

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Tour of King Parsonage

2- 4:00 Southern Poverty Law Center

400 Washington Ave.

Civil Rights Memorial (in open plaza)

Civil Rights Memorial Center

Theatre, Exhibits, Wall of Tolerance

5:00 Arrive back at Hotel

6:00 Dinner

Wednesday December 9: Depart Montgomery at 9:30 a.m.

Wednesday December 9: Arrive Selma at 10:30 a.m.

11:00 Meet with Joanne Bland at 11:00 at Essie’s for lunch. Ms. Bland marched across

the Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday as an 11 year old.

12:00 Cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge; visit sites along the Selma to Montgomery

Highway; Brown Chapel AME Church (SCLC Headquarters) and more, all with Joanne Bland.

Wednesday December 9, Depart Selma at 3:30 p.m.


Wednesday December 9: Arrive Birmingham 6:00 p.m.

Wingate by Wyndham Birmingham

800 Corporate Ridge Drive
Hwy 280 E. and Valleydale Road
Birmingham, AL 35242 US

205-995-8586

6:30: Dinner

8:00: Movie (TBD)

Thursday December 10th : In Birmingham

Breakfast in Hotel

9:30 Depart for Sites

10:00 Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Kelly Ingram Park Tour

2:00 Meet with Carolyn McKinstry, a childhood friend of the four young girls killed in the

Birmingham Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing. Ms. McKinstry was present when the church was bombed. She will give us a tour of the church and discuss her experience.

6:00 Dinner

Friday December 11th: Depart Birmingham at 8:00a.m.

Breakfast in hotel


Friday December 11th : Arrive Memphis at 1 p.m. (lunch break included)

Sleep Inn at Court Square

40 Front Street

Memphis, TN 38103

901-522-9700

1:30 Depart for National Civil Rights Museum (Lorraine Motel)

7:00 Dinner at BB King Blues Cafe

Evening: Beale Street


Saturday December 12: Day Off

Breakfast in Hotel

Maggie and Melinda will also be headed to Graceland – everyone is welcome to come along, but the miniterm cannot pay


Sunday December 13: Morning off

Breakfast in Hotel

Morning Off

12:40 Depart for Stax Museum of American Soul Music

Sunday December 13th: Depart Memphis at 3:00 p.m.

Sunday December 13: Arrive Little Rock at 5:30 p.m.

Comfort Inn & Suites Downtown at the Clinton Library

707 Interstate 30, Little Rock, AR, US, 72202

Phone: (501) 687-7700

6:30 Dinner

Monday December 14: In Little Rock

Breakfast in Hotel

8:30 Depart for Little Rock Central High

9:00 Tour Little Rock Central High School and Visitors’ Center

10:00 Meet with Minniejean Brown Trickey. Ms. Trickey was one of the Little Rock 9

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Meet with Thelma Mothershed Wair. Ms. Wair was one of the Little Rock 9

Monday, December 14: Depart Little Rock at 2:30 p.m.

Movie en Route: “Ghosts of Mississippi”

Monday, December 14: Arrive Jackson at 9:30 p.m. (includes dinner stop and break)

Hampton Inn Jackson North

465 Briarwood

Jackson, MS 39206

1-601-956-3611

December 15: In Jackson for Half Day

Breakfast in Hotel

Morning Off

(Laundry and Grocery optional)

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Medgar Evers House Museum: meet with Minnie Watson, curator

2332 Margaret Walker Alexander Drive

Jackson, MS 601-977-7710.






December 15th : Depart Jackson for New Orleans at 2:30p.m.

Movie en Route: “Faubourg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans”


December 15, 6:00: Arrive in New Orleans

Omni Royal Orleans Hotel

621 St Louis St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 529-5333

7:00 Dinner

December 16: Day in New Orleans

Morning Off in New Orleans

1-4:00 Grayline Tour of Katrina damage

4:30-7:00 Class in Conference Room

8:00 Dinner

December 17th: Day In New Orleans

9:00 Breakfast

10:00 Tour of Faubourg Treme and Congo Square

12:00 Lunch (Soul food)

1:00 Tour of St. Louis #1 Cemetery (emphasis on African Americans buried there)

2:00 French Quarter, Jackson Square, etc.

6:00 Dinner

8:00 Preservation Hall (New Orleans style Jazz) and/or other jazz venue

December 18th: Fly Home

Day 2! 12/2/09

I woke up this morning excited to start the day and to finally explore Charleston with a purpose. I went upstairs to the fourth floor of our hotel where there was a complimentary continental breakfast…superb might I add… walk outside to the patio and see…FLOODING!!!!! No way, what kind of southern weather is this???? Come to find out, Charleston is 10 feet below the sea level, so when there is a little bit of rain, flooding is not too uncommon. It was funny seeing the street that we walked down just 15 hours before, covered in knee deep water, yet in front of our hotel, nothing.

We headed out into the city, walking about a half a mile to an Old Slave Mart Museum. Unfortunately we were not able to take pictures inside, but for this museum it was unnecessary as we were able to gain more from the experience just from reading the various exhibits. The woman at the front desk was very knowledgeable and was able to answer any questions that we had. There was a also a vast amount of information packed into this very small but well put together museum. It amazes me that we were standing at a place where just 200 years ago, human beings were being sold like cattle…disgusting if you ask me but as you may know, it was a very profitable business back then. One thing I took away from this museum was what I learned about black slave masters. A student who is in my Senior Thesis group, as I mentioned before, is focusing on the slave trade in Charleston and in reading or historiographical paper I first learned about black and mullato slave masters. The idea that people of the same race would come to own their own people is mind boggling, but I still have not learned enough about that sort of situation to make an accurate judgment, but man would that make for a great Senior Thesis research…

After the visit at the museum we walked about a mile and a half to the Aiken-Rhett house. It was a beautiful four story home…HUGE, as are many of the homes in Charleston. It is no longer a house as it was left to the historical society when the last owner died in the 1970’s. (Truthfully, a house that big should be a hotel). We were unable to take pictures inside, however I was able to take some video footage (You gotta love technology, Professor Lawson don’t hate me!). But we were able to take pictures from the outside. Our tour guide was a bit…dry (to put it nicely). She seemed to think that saying the word “slave” would be offensive….really? She also seemed to get a bit upset if we were not sticking with the group. This museum had these mp3 player guided tours, that would have been right up my alley (again…technology!). But some students in our group…I won’t say any names because…I don’t know who it was exactly, wanted a tour guide. Truthfully I believe we would have gotten much more out of the house if we did our own thing, but overall it was a cool experience. Again the house was beautiful…the owner was wealthy beyond my wildest dreams…I mean the staircase at the back of the house used to be the front staircase, and they had the stairs moved to the back…unbelievable. Even the family cow had his own crib…really? Anyways what was important about this house is it was in the city and the owner had something like 12 or more slaves, which was a lot for people living in cities, somewhat unheard of. Slaves were generally used in greater numbers on plantations just outside cities and people who lived in the cities would have one or maybe two at most, so having this many slaves, along with the many books, and portraits and gold scattered throughout the house, showed the amount of wealth that this family had.

After this stop we went to lunch at a nice small Italian style restaurant and decided to book it back to the hotel because storms were coming…70% at 3pm. So we did that, and the storm didn’t end up coming until 7pm but none of us were complaining, I took a three hour nap…and that was day 2. Stay tuned for more!

I'M IN CHARLESTON!!!!!!!!!!

Up until 2009, I had only flown maybe twice before, and never by myself. This year alone I have flown four separate times including this trip. But this is the first time I am flying for a purpose other than pleasure or vacation. When my plane was close to landing, we were flying along the coast and I had a great view of the Atlantic Ocean, and the layout of coastal line of South Carolina. It had me asking… “What was it like here 300 years ago?” I asked this because I’ve always thought about what life was like hundreds of years ago, but because this is a new region for me and I know very little about the culture that exists here today, the culture that existed 300 years ago was even more interesting to me. Yes I know that South Carolina itself imported a high number of slaves. Cotton, Rice and Tobacco were the big money makers for plantation owners. But what was the average day like for a plantation owner? Was it different for them than it was for Mississippi plantation owners? How was the daily life for slaves? Was it different being by the Ocean than it was for Slaves who never had the chance to see the Ocean, such as in Georgia or Alabama? Did slaves ever try to escape by swimming in the Ocean? Did they know that where they came from was on the other side? I can’t even imagine. Fortunately, I just realized I’m not as ignorant about South Carolinas history and culture as I originally thought, as a student in my Senior Thesis group is writing about Slavery in South Carolina and more specifically Charleston….weird. Part of the reason why I’m writing about my Senior Thesis topic, is because of this mini-term, strange.

My plane touched down in Charleston, South Carolina at 10:45am. 50 minutes before the ETA. Not knowing what to expect I got off the plane and immediately headed for the baggage claim. While waiting for my luggage I decided to send out a quick mass text to get a feel for what time my classmates would be arriving as I had received a text from my professors saying their plane was delayed and that they wouldn’t be getting in until after our expected meeting time. To my surprise, a classmate had just landed so I decided to wait for him and we would grab a taxi to the hotel together. Driving through Charleston the first thing I noticed was the architecture. After taking a term of Art History at Union and living with my mother for the last 21 years, architecture has become some what of an interest of mine. The architecture in Charleston is much different than that of northern cities. There are so many differences between here and back home, yet many of the familiarities are here…McDonalds, Ben and Jerry’s, Aeropastle, Banana Republic, Apple. I know we didn’t leave the country, but still, is this country that universal when it comes to shopping.

The reason we are starting out in Charleston, South Carolina is not because it was the scene of important Civil Rights happenings, rather it is the beginning. Part of what I have learned from working on my Senior Thesis, is in order to understand a certain time period, you have to understand its beginning. This is true with our mini term. To understand why the Civil Rights movement took place, we have to know why African American were in this country in the first place, how they were treated, the living conditions, the construction of race, race relations, so much was involved in the Civil Rights movement that we cannot possibly cover it all in 8 classes, or 18 weeks traveling the south, however starting with beginning will help set us up to better understand what we do come across. Let’s see where this takes us!

By the way: Charleston is a beautiful city. A group of us took a long 5 mile stroll around a part of the city and saw some amazingly beautiful, and HUUUUGE (thank you Billy Fucillo) houses (I'll upload pictures later). My roommate James looked up some of the prices that houses go for around here...lets just say that there were more 7 figure prices than 6. But it really is cool to walk around and look at the architecture and just imagine what it must be like to live in those homes. The weather is nice, when I landed it was t-shirt and shorts weather. By the time the sun started to set it started to cool down, but it's still much warmer than Schenectady!!!!!

Also:

This trip is going to be the experience of a lifetime. When I try to explain to people what it is they typically don't understand. They think its a class, or a road trip. It's not...this really is an adventure...learning hands on. Seeing the places where major historical events took place, having the opportunity to put myself in the shoes of those who sacrificed so much to help bring about change. To be on a bus for a 6+ hour trip, (although the buses are much better today, and we have cell phones....and ipods...and laptops...and movies....wow I'm looking forward to the traveling...and there is no threat of violence against us...hopefully) but just, just doing this...how many people in the world can say they've done what we're about to do. We're pioneers, just as many in the Civil Rights movement were. And in no way am I comparing our trip/vacation to what Civil Rights Activists had to endure, I'm just merely making connections.

I'm going to try to add posts everyday, feel free to leave comments, ask questions, or just...read this. If you want to contact me personally feel free to email me: aray7254@gmail.com.

-Aaron