June, 21, 2019 (friday)
MorningTuskegee National Historic Site
The Tuskegee Airmen (Airmen) sprang from an experiment conducted by the US Army Air Corps (Army Air Forces) to see if Negroes (primarily African-Americans) had the mental and physical capabilities to lead, fly military aircraft, and the courage to fight in war.Both men and women served proudly togetherThe Tuskegee Airmen shared an experience unique to its time. The experiences of these pioneers opened doors that led to corridors of opportunities for others to enter, eventually leading to the Presidency of the United States. |
AfternoonTuskegee University, Rosa Parks & Fred Grey
This institution founded by Dr. Booker T. Washington was unique for it's time. The university, an African American University was acclaimed--first by Alabama and then by the nation for the soundness and vigor of its educational programs. Located on campus are the Booker T. Washington Home an George Washington Carvery Museum Rosa Parks & Fred Gray
While in Tuskegee we will have the unique opportunity to meet and learn the experiences of Fred Gray. During the Civil Rights Movement, Gray came to prominence working with Martin Luther King, Jr. and E.D. Nixon. In some of his first cases as a young Alabama attorney (and solo practitioner), Gray defended Rosa Parks. Gray represented the Montgomery Improvement Association during the more than year-long Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955, which ultimately led the United States Supreme Court to condemn bus segregation practices. He later served as an attorney for Martin Luther King and helped bring to light illegal and unethical testing on the Tuskegee Airmen. |
EveningMontgomery and Selma
The Rosa Parks Museum is an active memorial to the life of civil rights icon Rosa Parks and the lessons of the Montgomery Bus Boycott that brought racial integration to transportation and international attention to civil rights. Located in downtown Montgomery, Alabama, at the site where Mrs. Parks was arrested, it is the nation’s only museum dedicated to Rosa Parks. Their mission is to honor her legacy and that of the boycott by providing a platform for scholarly dialogue, civic engagement and positive social change. Following our visit at the museum we will visit the Southern Poverty Law Center where we will participate in a brief discussion on Teaching Tolerance. Edmund Pettus Bridge & Selma Alabama
We will end the day following in the footsteps of Martin Luther King and Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and the thousands of marchers who marched from Selma to Montgomery to ensure their right to vote, as we symbolically take a walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. |