MY DAY: STILL LET FREEDOM RING
When the Birmingham City Council heard that a delegation of youth from three high schools in Dallas were on a chartered tour revisiting the route of the 1961 Freedom Riders, they allowed time on their schedule for them at the council meeting. Upon their arrival media was there for interviews and the time allowed turned into extra minutes to speak and take pictures. In Vicksburg, Mississippi,
Mayor George Flaggs, Jr., and Alderman Michael Mayfield, pictured, warmly welcomed the new age freedom riders with proud expressions to Dr. Jerry Chambers, the visionary and Dr. Juanita Wallace, President of Dallas NAACP, the eloquent spokes lady.
On November 25th, students from Roosevelt High School, Kimball High School and Lincoln High School, along with their chaperons, embarked upon a historic educational journey to Vicksburg, Jackson, Birmingham and Altanta. The enthusiasm was high. The excitement electric. Pictures captured private and collective thoughts. College campuses was also a keynote on this tour. The students visited Grambling University, Miles College, Morehouse University, where the “Men of Morehouse” had an appointed committee prepared to greet the young Texans. Rounding out the tour was Spelman College and Clarke Atlanta University.
The Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham is the setting for several sculptures related to a significant part of American History and the Civil Rights Movement. It was here, during the week in May, 1963, that Birmingham police and firemen, confronted demonstrators, many of them high school students, with police dogs and fire hoses. One of the most photographed images in the world today, is a stature of a huge dog, a child and a police officer in attack mode. According to officials at the park there are visitors from all the world to this site almost daily.
Our sincere thanks and gratitude to the sponsoring sources for making this journey possible. Every African American should make a visit as a reminder to still let freedom ring as loud as possible.
Ester Davis can be reached at Estyler2000@aol.com
