May 7, 2008

May 7, 2008

Waking early we finished our journey to Montgomery, AL, the cradle of the Confederacy and Civil Rights. We trolleyed and walked around to all the downtown sites. On Civil Rights we saw Martin Luther King’s house and church. On the Confederacy, we saw the Rebels’ first capitol and White House. We also walked by the memorial to my favorite country singer Hank Williams. Although all were noteworthy, none were remarkable and worth more than a picture. The Confederate Capitol was only here a few months before it moved to Richmond. Reverend King was all about his words and actions, not his buildings.

We had a hotdog lunch at Montgomery’s oldest restaurant and then left heading east for the Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site. This historic college campus contains a museum honoring Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver. With the help of northern philanthropists, Booker started the Tuskegee Institute to educate former slaves. Tuskegee specialized in the practical arts. The students learned construction techniques and brick making “on the job” by building their own classrooms. Booker also lured Carver here to teach agricultural science. Carver was a natural scientist who focused on improved methods for poor farmers to feed themselves. He is famous for his work with the peanut, a crop crucial to the South when the boll weevil devastated cotton production.

A few miles to the east on Moton Airfield is the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. This work-in-progress is dedicated to the Army Air Corps training of black pilots to fight in Europe during WWII. As a result of the Tuskegee Airmen’s performance, the armed forces were completely integrated a few years later.

We spend the night in Chewacla State Park outside Auburn, AL.