Early last September, Pamela Lewis and I participated in a Road Scholar Tour though the American South with a focus on the Civil Rights Movement. For those who may not be familiar, a Road Scholar Tour is an educational travel experience that specializes in learning-focused adventures for adults. The 8-day tour that Pamela and I embarked on brought us face-to-face with places and exhibits that tell the story of the Civil Rights struggle during the late 1950s and early 1960s. I found the experience profound—it sparked a desire to learn more and raised questions about who we are as human beings.
As we immersed ourselves in the trip, I found myself reflecting on World War II and the Nazi treatment of the Jews. I was a young child during the war years, and growing up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, I had—and still have—many close Jewish friends. As we shared childhood stories, I heard about lost family members, parents weeping as they read letters from the “old country,” and failed attempts by family members in the U.S. to rescue loved ones from Germany.
While there were no gas chambers in the South, there were over 4,000 lynchings—instances where, without reason, Black men were hanged by groups of white men. Countless peaceful demonstrators were injured, many severely, as they marched. Innocent children were killed in the Birmingham church bombing. What drives humanity to commit such atrocities? Is it a need to feel superior, a fear of competition, an unwillingness to grow inwardly, or a love of power and wealth?
The National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, while not answering these questions directly, addresses the pervasiveness of humankind’s cruelty to others. I was particularly struck by an exhibit showcasing recent tyrants of the world in a police line-up. Their crimes against humanity were described, and the unsettling reality was that most were never held accountable. Alongside this display, however, were stories of heroes and martyrs who resisted these tyrants.
The museum also documents the vibrant lives of Black citizens in Atlanta. Despite enduring strict Jim Crow laws, Black churches, businesses, social clubs, and institutions of higher learning were established. When we visited several important Black churches associated with Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, I was struck—but, on reflection, not surprised—that Jesus was often portrayed as a white man. Much has been written about what Jesus may have looked like, and as an adult believer, I know it shouldn’t matter. I grew up with Warner Sallman’s Head of Christ, a portrait first created in 1924. Sallman, of Scandinavian descent, depicted a very Nordic-looking Christ, and this imagery carried over into the stained glass depictions of Jesus in these Black churches.
I wondered how a young Black child might feel looking at this white Jesus. Would it reinforce the idea of white superiority? How thankful I felt when I saw a Black Jesus in stained glass in the restored window of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Ironically, the white face of Jesus had been blown out in the infamous church bombing of 1963. John Petts, a glass artist in Wales, was moved by the atrocity and offered to replace the window. Donations poured in from Welsh citizens, and the window was dedicated in June 1965. Martin Luther King Jr., who preached at the 16th Street Baptist Church, once said, “God can make good out of evil.”
Reflecting on my education, I realize that my high school history lessons provided a simplistic view of the Civil War. I was left with the impression that slavery was solely a Southern issue, with little acknowledgment of the North’s complicity. A visit to the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, provides a dramatic, historical, and uncomfortable closer look. No area along the East Coast was exempt from supporting the slave trade. Ports in Boston and New York welcomed slave ships as early as the mid-1600s. Enslaved people built the wall along what is now Wall Street and worked fields in Brooklyn. Even after slavery was abolished in New York State in 1827, wealthy New Yorkers invested in businesses that supported the cotton economy. Forerunners of today’s banks and insurance companies—names you would recognize—issued loans using enslaved people as collateral or offered life insurance policies that paid out upon the death of an enslaved person.
One final and important observation: it was the faith and energy of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Black Baptist churches that initiated and sustained the Civil Rights Movement against tremendous odds. Eventually, others joined the cause, and after countless horrific acts captured national attention, the Civil Rights Act was signed into law in July 1964.
Change is hard and often dangerous work. This Road Scholar Tour reminded me of this at every place we visited. It has left me with a deeper understanding of the importance of celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday on January 15th and learning about the history of Black Americans.
