DAY FOUR Atlanta, Georgia

Words by Cyrus, Year 13

Waking up in downtown Atlanta, we started our day by travelling to the National Centre for Civil and Human Rights. The museum aims to present the achievements of the US civil rights movement and the broader human rights movement; splitting it into three different floors. 

The first floor is dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King, who was born in Atlanta, which displays some of his key writings during the movement. The next floor is quite unique with its interactive activities, with videos, listening devices and creative installations. The most imaginative and engaging being the sit-ins simulation. The sit-ins were a wave of nonviolent civil rights protests, that were a result of the Greensboro sit-in in 1960 by school students, where young people were trained to sit in the segregated areas in diners or restaurants, and endure the discriminative comments, throwing of food or physical abuse. The museum attempted to recreate this situation where you put on headphones and listened to the similar comments that were screamed at the participants of the sit-ins. This simulation invigorated and brought to life the experience of the sit-ins, and actually how hard it would’ve been to face the discrimination without retaliation.

Finally, the third floor addressed the global human rights movement. It explained different issues experienced by different countries, for example, women’s rights in Iran, disability rights in the US or human rights in Uganda. Whilst this section of the exhibition was not about the US Civil Rights Movement, it was interesting to see the different challenges faced by people around the world, and how there are similarities to the civil rights movement.

The exhibition developed my understanding of some of the less spoken about people and protests inside of the US Civil Rights Movement; whilst also giving a keen insight into the more global challenges experienced in the past century.

Words by Alessandro, Year 13

Our Atlanta city walk:

Sweet Auburn otherwise known as the “richest negro street in the world” played an important role in America's civil rights movement. This street was the thriving centre for black culture,business and activism despite the clear segregation and systemic racism. 

Sweet Auburn also served as a key meeting point for many civil rights leaders and institutions such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the first successful black daily newspaper in the world ( Atlanta Daily World ) founded in 1928 which gave a voice to the African American community. 

We also explored the birthplace of Dr Martin Luther King and the neighbouring site where he and his wife are commemorated. This also included a visit to the Ebenezer Baptist Church where King and his father both preached. 

Along the way to these different key historical points we passed a number of murals which shine light on some of the most influential figures of the civil rights movement, such as John Lewis, as well as representations of the gentrification and displacement of black communities in Atlanta. These all give life to the otherwise dull city of Atlanta.

Some more photographs from the day below: