The Civil Rights Trail: Selma & Voting Rights

After departing from the sugar-white sands of the Alabama gulf coast, our next stop was the town of Selma, AL.

Selma was the recent topic of a major motion picture by the same name. If you haven't seen the movie yet, I definitely recommend it! It's out on DVD now. We actually just watched it last night. It's pretty powerful. It tells the story of how people advocated for the right to vote in the 60s, a time when African-Americans had the Constitutional right to vote but were effectively barred from registering due to oppressive and racist policies and procedures. For example, if a black person tried to register to vote, they'd have to pay a poll tax or pass a (purposely impossible) literacy test. In the movie, one character is asked to name all 67 county judges in Alabama, and when she can't, her voter registration application is denied.

Civil Rights leaders strategically chose Selma as the site of protest because there was a defined goal (registering to vote) and a defined opponent (the town sheriff). When they started, less than 2% of blacks in Selma were registered to vote, and in a neighboring county, where the blacks made up almost 50% of the population, there were a total of 0 registered to vote. Zero. That shocked me!!

The point of marching from Selma to Montgomery was to raise awareness about the issue of voter registration and demand legislation that would end discrimination in the registration and voting process in Alabama. (When African-Americans had no voice in electing their public officials, it was no surprise that those officials didn't represent their interests. Also, black people couldn't serve on a jury because jury pools were pulled from the voter rolls.) As you probably know, the peaceful march was initially met with a violent response from local law enforcement. Eventually the march did happen and it achieved its desired result! The Voting Rights Act was passed a few months later.

On our trip, we visited this great little interpretive center along the road before actually arriving in Selma. We saw the churches where the activists gathered, the streets they walked, the bridge they crossed, and drove the highway they eventually marched on all the way to Montgomery.

Selma itself is a fairly small town, and we just spent a couple hours there since there wasn't really too much to do. I'm glad we were able to witness this important historical location, though!

If you'll allow me a slight political rant now, I was dismayed that the Supreme Court struck down key provisions of the VRA as unconstitutional in 2013. I would summarize the justices' opinion, briefly, as "it's been 50 years and the law worked. We don't have that bad of discrimination anymore, so this law is now an overreach of power by the federal government." Um, what??? Maybe we weren't seeing evidence of severe discrimination anymore because the law was in place and working!! If I had been a person who marched over that bridge and got beaten up in the name of voting rights, I think I would have felt like I was getting whacked upside the head all over again when I heard that decision come down from the Court.

In the wake of the Supreme Court decision, several states moved quickly to enact more restrictive voter laws, including photo ID requirements, a reduction of early voting times, and more. If the VRA were still in effect, these changes would have gone through a review process to ensure that they didn't unnecessarily disenfranchise minorities. But now, there is no oversight, and I'm not sure who is protecting minority rights.

Now lest this all be doom and gloom, let me give a shout-out to my home state of Oregon, which recently announced that citizens in the state will be registered to vote automatically as part of the driver's licensing process, with an opt-out process available if someone doesn't want to be registered. Way to increase the voter rolls, Oregon! The "discrimination watcher" in me feels compelled to point out that not everyone has a driver's license, though, so I hope they have other systems in place to keep actively registering those people as well. All elections in Oregon are conducted by mail, so I think that's also a good way to increase participation - since people can vote on their own time and don't have to appear in person at a polling place.

Chapter 3: Montgomery will be coming next!

The Civil Rights Trail: Birmingham

Every year for our anniversary, DF and I like to take a trip together to celebrate. (We're more into experiences than actual gifts.) Usually we go somewhere a little farther away, but given my current status we decided to do a road trip and stay relatively close to home. We visited several spots around Alabama on what I'd say was our most educational vacation yet!

We spent a relaxing week down at Orange Beach, AL. Since school wasn't out yet, the town was quite tranquil. I hear the whole Gulf Shores area becomes a madhouse in the summer. Guess we picked the right time to go!

While I enjoyed being on the beach, I'd say the more memorable parts of the trip were the two weekends that we spent taking in the key spots of the Civil Rights Trail. Alabama was one of the major settings where the Civil Rights movement took shape. Clashes over changing ideas even turned violent there. Important historical sites have been preserved, and now visitors are invited in to remember what happened, I believe with the hope that we'll all keep the ideals of the Civil Rights Movement alive today (rather than relegating it to a back-patting-look-how-far-we've-come corner of a museum).

Since we've been living in Memphis, I've been trying to educate myself more about this era of our nation's history - it's not something I remember learning a whole lot about in school. Or maybe I did, but as a kid it didn't seem as real to me as Lewis & Clark and hardtack and wagons and all that Oregon history we learned about on field trips.

First Stop: Birmingham

Birmingham in the late 50s-early 60s became known as "Bomingham" because of the frequency with which bombs went off around the city, targeting African Americans or whites who supported them. The city had an intense KKK presence and was extremely segregated. The most infamous incident was the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church one Sunday morning, in which 4 girls were killed during Sunday School. It shocked the nation. But no one was caught or prosecuted for the crime until more than a decade later. 

We attended this church on Sunday morning and it was a unique and memorable experience. It was Mother's Day. The pastor's sermon was taken from the story in Exodus of Moses's mother hiding her infant son from the authorities who sought to kill him, then setting him in a basket in the river. It totally reminded me of what I learned in Central America about liberation theology. In this sermon, Moses's mother becomes the example for all mothers, especially African-American mothers, in that she did not accept what society told her about her son. Egyptian society told her that her child was not important-in fact, that he should die. She subverted that paradigm and instead accepted what God told her about her child, that his life mattered. Then she acted with faith, believing God's promises. The pastor related his own personal story of growing up in a poor family, in a high-crime area, and his mother was told he would be in jail or dead by the time he was 25. The pastor (who is well over age 25) testified that God had other plans for his life, and he was not held to those negative ideas that society wanted to perpetuate.

It's hard to capture this experience fully in words. Suffice it to say, if you're ever in Birmingham on a Sunday morning, I recommend you visit this church! Don't be intimidated if you are not black. Yes, almost everyone at the church was black on the day we were there, but you know what? It's good for you (if you're a white person) to be the minority sometimes! Just be friendly and treat others like you'd want to be treated, and I'm sure you'll have a lovely time. We sure did!

We went to several other places around town, including the Civil Rights Institute and the site of the historical marker for MLK's Letter from Birmingham Jail. If you've never read that letter or the story behind it, you should click on that link right now. Here's a summary: in April 1963, MLK and others were involved in several acts of non-violent protest against racism and segregation in the city. They were doing things like picketing, marching, sit-ins, etc. They were barred by a judge from demonstrating, but several people violated the ban and got arrested.

After this happened, a group of white religious leaders wrote an "open letter" to the protesters urging them to be patient, seek reforms through established channels, and basically stop causing a ruckus. It was published in the newspaper. MLK wrote an impassioned and eloquent response from his jail cell explaining that now was the time for action, as justice too long delayed is justice denied. This letter is credited as one of the most important documents of the Civil Rights Era as it crystallized the issues in the minds of those who perhaps were on the fence about where exactly they stood on the whole question of "justice for all."

I have lots more thoughts on all these issues, plus Selma and Montgomery to report about, but this post is long enough already. Stay tuned for more updates when I have time!

Pronunciation Practice

This past year, I've been teaching ESL once a week here in Memphis with an organization that works primarily with the Latino community. It's been a really great volunteer experience! I've taught ESL in lots of different venues before - it's nice to be back in the saddle again.

(Now I feel I should explain the idiom "back in the saddle" for any non-native English speaking readers...)

Last week was our final review session for the semester. I was going over vocabulary with my class in preparation for their upcoming exam. One of the words was "paint," which some of them couldn't remember how to say. So, I pronounced it clearly for them as "PAY-nt" (with a long "a" sound, sorry, can't really do phonetic symbols here). They tried to say it, but it didn't really sound right, so I again said "PAY-nt" and had them copy me. Then I thought, hmm, maybe the problem is that they are speaking with a Spanish+Memphis accent, and they don't understand my West Coast pronunciation!

In this part of the country, you'd pronounce "paint" differently. I think it's like "PIE-ent." It is certanly not a long "a" sound.

What's my duty as an ESL teacher living in the South? I can't adopt a drawl very effectively. I have mentioned "y'all," and "ma'am/sir" to them before. Probably the best I can do is try to teach some kind of generic English and let them pick up the local accent from native Memphians.

Hopefully I'm not confusing them too badly with my Pacific Northwest accent! And apparently exposure to a variety of American accents is part of the socio-cultural aspect of ESL instruction, so I've got that going for me.

Root for the Home Team

I grew up in Oregon during the glory days of the Portland Trail Blazers, which was the early 90s for those of you not following the NBA 20+ years ago. It was the era of Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey, Terry Porter, Kevin Duckworth, Cliff Robinson...and yes, I was such a hard-core fan that I just listed those players from memory! (It probably helped that my family regularly used our Dairy Queen Blazers' collector glasses, also.)

I remember in elementary school, we were putting on some type of choir concert and convinced our teacher that we should change the words to a song about eagles flying to instead be about "Drexler in the sky, racing to the hoop!" During the playoffs, my sister and I made posters to hang in the back windows of our station wagon heralding the excellence of the Blazers and the lameness of all their opponents with such colorful puns as "the Jazz are singing the blues," and "the Bulls are seeing red!"

But over the years, my attention to basketball waned as other pursuits became more important, and before I knew it, I didn't really recognize any players on the team any more. Then I moved to Seattle, home of the Supersonics (at least at that time). How could I keep cheering for the Blazers in the home town of their rivals? So, I opted out of following basketball. A subsequent move to DC planted me firmly in Wizards territory, but as a grad student in International Relations, I didn't have much time or brain power to devote to such domestic interests as professional sports.

Now, here we are in Memphis, home of the Grizzlies. This town is crazy about their team! And really, it's easy to be a fan, because they are great players. The Grizzlies are facing the Blazers in the first round of the playoffs, and I must confess that I'm cheering for my new home team. It feels a bit weird after growing up as a Blazers fan, but things change and people move on. Go Grizz!

Scars

Thanks to everyone for your good wishes and encouragement - the healing process is well underway over here, and I'm doing much better than I was just 3 weeks ago! Now that the immediate crisis has passed, I'm trying to figure out how to cope with the aftermath and adjust to a new sense of normal.

In pregnancy, I feel like "normal" is a shifting target, though. At first, it's normal to be queasy and subsist on saltine crackers. Later on, it's normal to waddle and need to use the bathroom every 5 minutes. Every day is a bit of an adventure into the unknown, I suppose.

Now I'm adding "healing from surgery" to the mix. I've got plenty of small scars already - don't we all? Most of them make for great stories, like the time a rabbit almost bit off the tip of my finger, or when I tripped in the kitchen and fell chin-first onto a cheese grater. These little blemishes aren't very noticeable; most of the time I don't even think about them. An abdominal incision is more difficult to ignore. I don't want to get into all the gory details (because I'll gross myself out), but let's just say I currently have to choose my clothes carefully to avoid pain, and my future days of wearing a bikini might be over. (Perhaps I'll emulate the Duggars and start wearing modest swim dresses.)

Why does this bother me? I probably wear a swimming suit 5 days out of the year when we go on vacation. I don't really even like to swim. I'm overly concerned about skin cancer and try to stay covered up at the beach/pool when I can. So wearing a tankini or one-piece suite is really not going to impact my lifestyle much at all. But I just don't like that I have this huge scar. It's not how I imagined my life turning out. I wanted to be one of those moms who pops out her babies and then starts doing mommy aerobics and has her old body back in no time. Was that a realistic expectation? Given that I rarely exercised even before getting pregnant, probably not...

Looking on the bright side, I'm grateful that the babies are doing well and developing just as they should be so far. I'm no longer in pain. We have health insurance so this unexpected medical issue isn't going to break the bank.

Vanity of vanity, all is vanity.

Hmm, this post really has nothing to do with life in the South particularly. Maybe next time!

Not the Easter I Was Expecting

Disclaimer: this post is purposely vague in places because I don't really feel like sharing all my personal information on the internet. If you know me IRL and want to ask more about what's going on, feel free!

In case you didn't know, dear reader, Salmonista is with child. Two little hatchlings, to be exact, and they're expected to make their debut this summer. DF and I are quite excited about this new adventure in life!

I'm about halfway through the pregnancy now. Late last week, I started feeling sick, and not in a normal pregnant kind of way. I went to the doctor and, long story short, wound up in the hospital on Good Friday having abdominal surgery to deal with the issue. Whoa, that kind of came out of nowhere! I did my best to be brave, but to be honest, I was scared. Who wants to have a doctor operating in such close proximity to your little babies?? And to make matters more complicated, the surgery turned out to not be entirely successful. The doctors discovered that the issue will need to wait until after pregnancy to be fully resolved. So now I'm left to recover from an operation while my mid-section keeps expanding over the coming months. Ooooh boy, this should be fun.

I had to stay in the hospital until Sunday afternoon. DF was a dear and slept on the couch in my room for the weekend so I didn't have to be alone, even though he got woken up all night by various beeping machines and medical personnel. He is already being a great dad!

I've been a bit overwhelmed by the love and support we've encountered here through this ordeal. I never had any major medical issues out in Seattle so I didn't get a chance to test my network, but we'd lived there for quite awhile and I'm pretty sure our friends would have rallied to the occasion :)  What I didn't know was that we also have a lot of people here in Memphis who care about us. From the friends who dropped everything to help us out with transportation needs, to the steady stream of visitors through my hospital room, to the overflowing containers of delicious food currently stocking our refrigerator, to the calls/texts/emails from so many people, I really do feel the Southern love. And that's not even counting the check-ins (and flowers) from relatives in other parts of the country!

This whole medical issue thing isn't really over yet, but I'm definitely on the mend, thanks to modern pharmaceuticals. I would like to get back to being a "normal" pregnant person soon but that ship may have sailed. I'm hyper-aware of every ache and pain as a potential harbinger of another health crisis. Hope these little guys will appreciate the pain and suffering their mom is going through for them, but I hear kids never really grasp it. And so begins motherhood... :)

 Cheerful frogs and flowers to brighten my mood

And on Easter afternoon, up from the hospital bed I arose!

BBQ

It occurs to me that I've never given my readers a proper explanation of BBQ. Read on! My aim is to educate the non-southerners in the audience, but if I've mis-spoken, I hope the Memphians will correct me (kindly) :)

Q: What do you mean by "barbecue"?
A: Barbecue (and I believe it is culturally appropriate to abbreviate BBQ) in Memphis means pork that has been slow-cooked over wood. The most common cuts of meat are pork shoulder (for pulled pork) and ribs. You can also find BBQ chicken and beef brisket in Memphis, but those are the exception, not the rule.

It is very tasty...look at this mouth-watering photo!

Q: What is the best BBQ sauce for Memphis-style ribs?
A: Trick question! Real Memphis BBQ uses a dry rub to season the meat, not sauce. Sauce is commonly added to pulled pork, though. As best as I can tell, authentic Memphis sauce is tomato-based and a little sweet. Spice level can vary. It's definitely not mustardy like that gross stuff they serve over in the Carolinas!

Q: What side dishes are best with BBQ?
A: I'd be remiss if I didn't mention all the scrumptious side dish options! Meat is just one part of the meal. Common sides include coleslaw, baked beans (usually with meat bits in them), potato salad, deviled eggs, collard/turnip/mustard greens, potato chips, green beans (again, with meat bits), fries, and the ever-popular mac & cheese. Most places also give you some white bread or rolls, if you didn't already order a sandwich. In case you didn't pick up on it, BBQ is not a very vegetarian-friendly cuisine.

Q: Who has the best BBQ in Memphis?
A: I know better than to touch that question with a 10 foot pole! Personally, I appreciate BBQ nachos wherever they can be found :) That means tortilla chips covered in pulled pork, BBQ sauce, and cheese sauce. The adventurous eater can also add jalapenos.

Q: I am a Yankee moving to Memphis. I want to invite my new friends over for a BBQ. Do you think they will come?
A: Probably. First, check the college football/basketball schedule so you don't have a date conflict. Then, make sure you call the event a "grill out" or a "cook out." We don't say "a barbecue" here. It's not used as a countable noun. BBQ refers to pork that is cooked as described above. I'm pretty sure that if you say "we're grilling out," you are allowed to serve hamburgers and potato chips, or whatever else you like to cook on the grill. But fair warning, if you serve Tofurky dogs, you're not going to win many friends that way.