A historical experience

Right across the street from the State Capital. is a most beautiful old church built in 1877.  In 1954, a young 26-year-old black man, named Martin Luther King Jr, became the Baptist Minister.  One year later, his life begins to change dramatically.  

Rosa Parks was recently arrested for refusing to move from a bus seat so a white man would no longer need to stand in the aisle.  Martin Luther King, Jr offers a group of organizers for a bus boycott to meet in the basement of his church. Soon after, he becomes the driving force of the bus boycott pushing him into national attention.

Ten years later, 25,000 individuals stand at the State Capital's stairs located across the street from the church.  In front of the mass stands Martin Luther King, Jr, with a petition in his hand trying to secure the right for blacks to be able to vote.  The petition was intended for the current governor at the time, George Wallace.

As I travel throughout the city, there are murals, monuments and streets named remembering and honoring the impact this young man made during the Civil Rights era in our history.  

I return back to the State Capital late afternoon as I want to have some time for reflection.  As I am standing in front of the Baptist church, an older black woman approaches me with a smile and simple words, "Where are you from?"  Her warm smile and simple question lead us into an almost one-hour conversation about her 60+ years of living in this city. As we close, she informs me of an annual march which will be occurring in front of these State Capital stairs this weekend.  This march is the anniversary of the same march Martin Luther King, Jr led here 57 years ago.  In that instant, I make the decision to extend my stay in Montgomery so I may be part of this historical event.  As I walk back to my car, I realize today will is a historical day for me.  A day I will always remember from this epic journey I started almost 2 years ago.