Never wanting to get too comfortable, I accepted a dog sitting gig with Trusted Housesitters in the city (as opposed to where I am staying in the suburbs). I’m staying in the Old Fourth Ward which is MLK Jr.’s birth place and a popular neighborhood to live in Atlanta since it’s on the Beltline, Ponce City Market (a previous Sears warehouse) and Krog Market (food hall and shops).
What I love about the neighborhood is its walkability and numerous cafes and restaurants. There’s also a ton of green space including the Historic Fourth Ward Park.
It’s obvious it’s trendy because there is construction everywhere. But the kind of construction I hate. Small, modest, historic homes are being replaced with monster modern monstrosities. I know it’s the thing to do – it’s happening in Portland, too.
The dogs got lots of walks as I meandered the neighborhood. Scotch and Pete got along well and the weather was perfect. It’s so easy to make a dog happy with just walks, treats and scratches behind their ears!
Today I visited another amazing museum. I’ll be honest I didn’t have high expectations after the Legacy Sites in Montgomery. After visiting so many civil rights museums, I do really enjoy seeing the different ways of presenting information and the power and impact those messages can make.
This museum decided to address human rights, in addition to, civil rights. Upon entry, the civil rights section was really crowded so I decided to go upstairs and do the human rights section first. I’ll admit I got emotional almost immediately. This museum leads with powerful stories and shares how average, ordinary people took risks to promote human rights. The exhibit “A Mile in My Shoes” was particularly powerful as I listened to personal stories of complete strangers. Each story is linked to a real pair of shoes worn by the person you’re listening to. This delivery really humanizes their experiences.
The second floor also housed the Action Lab. Of course, I’m incredibly action oriented and so this exhibit definitely struck me. The visitor learns about a variety of issues and causes, and then is given ways to find resources and opportunities to be involved with that cause.
Downstairs is focused on civil rights. There was a ton of information, pictures, videos, and other multimedia that presented details about civil rights. For example, there was a full sized depiction of the Freedom Riders bus with all the pictures of the Freedom Riders. You could pick up a phone and listen to their stories. There was also 1,100 books from Dr. Martin Luther King’s personal library. And two quilts from Gee’s Bend!
But the most powerful thing in this museum was the lunch counter sit-in. Museum visitors are invited to sit at the lunch counter with a menu in front of them and place headphones over their ears, close their eyes and place their hands on the lunch counter. Audio begins and depicts what folks at the lunch counter heard and experienced. The sound quality of the audio was really amazing. I could literally hear somebody breathing in my right ear. I felt that there was somebody right behind me and the screaming was truly scary. The audio lasted one minute and 25 seconds and mimics being at the lunch counter. It is an experience I will not forget. And it really showed me how courageous the college students were that sat at these lunch counters.
There are so many layers to this museum and I loved how it coupled civil rights with human rights. If you’re in Atlanta definitely visit this museum.
This morning, I got my workout done early so that I could head into Atlanta to visit the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Since it wasn’t open yet, I decided to take a walk and I landed at the Centennial Olympic Park. What a nice surprise since I didn’t realize it was right next to the museum.
It was raining, but plenty of people were out. The park is beautiful and I love the different features, including, of course, the Olympic rings the various water features, flowers and open spaces. Definitely a nice walk on a Sunday morning.
Today I visited the Jimmy Carter Museum and made a day of it by walking the Atlanta Beltline and eating lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta. I met up with two college friends, that even though they have lived here 35 years, had never visited the museum.
Jimmy Carter was president when I was ten years old so I learned a ton about his background and accomplishments. He grew up in Plains, GA and his father was a peanut farmer and strict segregationist. His mother was a nurse and believed everyone was equal. Carter joined the Navy but soon realized he would have more impact on the world in politics. He was a senator for two terms, then the Governor and finally a U.S. president for one term in 1977.
He created the Energy Department, the Panama Canal Treaty and the Egypt/Israel Peace Treaty. He also led a country healing from the atrocities of Vietnam and Watergate. Civil rights, human rights and compassion were most important to him and he relied on his wife, Rosalynn Carter, to be his confidante and advisor while leading.
The museum also houses a conflict center. The gardens were in full bloom and beautiful. The area is peaceful even though it is very close to the Beltline and a lively area of Atlanta. The museum used films, interactive displays, photos and memorabilia to share a great deal of information and certainly was worth visiting.
seniyegroff 