SOUTHERN CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY TOUR MAY 2021
Day 1- Little Rock
My wanderlust tends to be limited to adjacent zip codes and places that don't require a pre-trip visit to an infectious disease doc. The pandemic modified that rule a little and today we landed at the Bill and Hillary Clinton Airport in Little Rock Arkansas to start a one week Civil Rights History Road Trip that Lori cobbled together thanks to some southern family history and suggestions from friends.
The one less annoying thing about aging is getting to watch the pendulum of history travel between darkness and light. The last election pushed back the darkness but right now the post election light right feels dim and fragile. Three days ago the Texas House passed a bill that according to the NYT “would limit teacher-led discussions of current events; prohibit course credit for political activism or lobbying, which could include students who volunteer for civil rights groups; and ban teaching of The 1619 Project”
On this 2021 road trip to a few of the flashpoints of the Civil Rights movement it’s hard not to think about that swinging pendulum.
On a tip from a friend our first stop was to an exceptionally thoughtful and creative exhibit about the Green Book, in Little Rock.
Here’s a cut and paste from the exhibit opening announcement ;
"The Negro Motorist Green Book," an exhibition developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian, Candacy Taylor, offers an immersive look at the reality of travel for African Americans in mid-century America and how the annual guide served as an indispensable resource for the nation’s rising African American middle class and evidence of a vibrant business class. The Negro Motorist Green Book is made possible through the support of Exxon Mobil Corporation.
Today we're taking a National Park Service tour of Little Rock Central High School It starts at the National Historic Site Visitor located at 2120 W Daisy L Gatson Bates Drive. Daisy Bates was the President of the NAACP in Little Rock. In 1957, she was the leader of the struggle on behalf of the African American students, known as the Little Rock Nine, to become the first to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Daisy Bates lived across the street from Lori’s aunt and uncle and their daughter, Lori’s cousin Alice.
In 1957 Lori’s uncle Lee Lorch was teaching math at Philander Smith a historically black college. Lee and his wife Grace Lonergan Lorch, were fearless civil rights and labor activists. In 1957 an iconic photo captured the moment Grace protected Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine children being harassed by a hostile white crowd at a bus stop near the school. During the heat of that conflict unexploded dynamite was discovered in the garage of their home. Below is that photo of Grace protecting Elizabeth from the mob.
