4:44
We met up with activists Cleopatra Goree, Barbara Mines and Catharine Burks-Brooks next, over a lunch of fried chicken and an odd colored but excellent tasting juice. I loved talking to Barbara. She contributed to the movement in a meaningful way by participating in the Children's March, but also carved out a job and a livelihood. She was rebellious and prosperous. I admired that a lot and see her as a role model of sorts. I think when she spoke, it tied me back to this idea of not even handling criticism in the Movement, but in handling what is perceived as humiliation in it.
A Letter From Birmingham Jail was MLK at his lowest, with his white clergymen seemingly ashamed of him or afraid of him. It seems the same for everyone we met today, including Roscoe Jones. Humiliation is the ultimate driver of change in my mind. Today I experienced petite amounts of humiliation in jokes gone awry and games lost but even in those situations it makes you question where you stand in your present community, in the world around you. So when humiliation is like an old friend, what then? What then when indignities are a part of your everyday life? Then going against the status quo hardly seems like a decision at all.
I am not at ease with myself in any way, dealing with relationships and the future, managing what I have now pretty poorly. This was sort of a jumble of thoughts I've had tonight and throughout the day, and not entirely reflective of the day at large. We spent 5 hours on the bus from Birmingham to what I believe is now Jackson, MS. I played a game called Stop which I lost so many times it's hard to count. We ate at Western Sizzlin' in Meridian and listened to Vietnam Vet and Freedom Project leader Roscoe Jones speak. We watched Rob Reiner's Ghosts of Mississippi. I feel sort of small at this point in time, feeling like I've been unhelpful in aiding causes today as well as being there for my friends and family. Maybe that feeling will change, but probably not tomorrow, as we begin our descent into the Mississippi Delta. (Also enclosed is a picture of me with Barbara Mines.)
Comments
Post a Comment