Day 4: Tuskegee Institute

Daisy, 7th grade:

At our second stop, the Tuskegee Institute, I learned a little more about George Washington Carver.  What I learned was that Carver started exploring and testing things ever since he was young.  Furthermore, I found it inspiring when I found out that George Washington Carver found uses for things like peanuts, just by testing and exploring different things.  Learning that makes me inspired to test and explore different things just like Washington Carver and who knows?  I may be just like him and find uses for different things.

Jessica, 8th grade:

 

As our day progressed, we visited the Tuskegee Institute where we learned about George Washington Carver. In George W. Carver's childhood, we discovered that he was eager to learn which led him to studying art, agriculture, and several different careers. Even though a school offered him no fame or fortune to teach, he still accepted the offer. For the remainder of his years he passed his knowledge to other generations by teaching in the institute.  Outside of the building we could see a statue of Booker T. Washington uncovering an African American. To us this represented how he gave education to those that didn't have it so they could have a wider variety of opportunities. One of my companions told me that it could also be interpreted as the African Americans finally being seen as the people that they were.

 

Day 4: Tuskegee Airmen NHS

It was a busy day for the Freedom Rangers on Thursday, May 26.  We visited three national park sites and traveled a good distance to our next stop.   Our day began with a police escort to Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, since road construction impacted our route.

Jessica, 8th grade, continues the story:

In the morning, we learned about the 332nd platoon of the Tuskegee Airmen also known as the Red Tails that consisted of  'Negros' . The ranger we met at the museum told us that the term 'Negros' did not refer to just African Americans. Back then, that term was applied to all that weren't either white or of Asian descent. Also, we learned these people didn't just fight our enemies in WW2 but fought the discrimination in America. Since people thought that only whites could maneuver a plane, the Tuskegee Airmen were kept secret. For a while the documents were sealed by the government but later on it was accepted that they were in the military air force. Some accomplishments for the Red Tails were that they integrated the military which allowed no segregation to happen and 72 pilots shot down 112 of the enemy aircraft. After the war, they were received with no celebration but were taken to a segregated bus instead. The men from the 332nd platoon wanted to change this and join Martin Luther King, Jr.

Daisy, 7th grade:

Today was a day full of learning.  When we arrived at our first stop, the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, I hardly knew anything about who were the Tuskegee Airmen and what they did.  So as I learned more about them I was more and more intrigued with how they changed the whites' perspective on how blacks fight in the war.  What also intrigued me was when I learned that 104 black officers were arrested for trying or actually entering a whites-only officers' club. I found that interesting and cool because I knew something like that would happen, but I didn't expect many officers to try and stand up for what was right.

Day 3: Atlanta

We woke up in Atlanta this morning, so we didn't have to get up too early.  We made our way to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, beginning at the park's Visitor Center.  Some students said they learned that Dr. King was influenced by Gandhi, whose statue we saw outside the building.  We then went in and explored the museum and watched the movie, and of course, stamped our passport books!

Where have we seen that before?

We met Ranger Rebecca, who took us on a tour of Dr. King's neighborhood.  We started by looking at the new exhibit about King and Jimmy Carter, "Georgia's Global Peacemakers."  We learned that President Carter was responsible for creating many national parks during his administration.

We then headed over to the home where Dr. King was born.  We were fortunate to go inside and see where Dr. King spent the early years of his life.  We learned a little about his family life, his sister, who is still alive, and that his favorite game was Monopoly.  After a bookstore stop, we continued down Auburn Avenue to the grave of Dr. King and his wife, Coretta. 

On the back porch of Dr. King's birth home

We also stopped in at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where we heard Dr. King's voice throughout the church.  We listened for a few minutes and spoke with a park volunteer who answered our questions.

After lunch at the Underground, we took a walk around the Georgia State Capitol building, looking at the statues, art work, and architecture.  We were then back on the bus, heading to our next destination--Alabama.  After arriving in Auburn, we had some down time to relax, eat dinner, swim, and reflect on this day we spent learning more about Dr. King, a pivotal figure in the Civil Rights Movement. 

We also had time to rest up before a busy day tomorrow!

Day 2 Cowpens National Battlefield

After a successful first day, we were on the road again.  We spent the morning riding through North Carolina to reach our destination, Cowpens National Battlefield, just over the border in South Carolina.  We enjoyed the nice weather and beautiful surroundings and played soccer and ate pizza.

Ranger Kathy met us at the picnic pavilion and after lunch, directed us to the Visitor Center.  There we picked up the Junior Ranger booklet, stamped our passport books, and watched the Cowpens film, that introduced us to the Revolutionary War battle at Cowpens in 1781.

Watching the film!

Next we joined Ranger Will for a walking tour of the battlefield.  He kept us interested by describing the different people involved and having us follow the route of the soldiers.  We enjoyed the walk and came away with a good understanding of this battle.

We ended our visit to Cowpens with a discussion with Ranger Kathy about Civil Rights issues in South Carolina.  As a native of the state, she shared stories she's learned about parks and events that help set the stage for our travels this week. 

Thank you Cowpens staff for a great afternoon!

We settled in for another bus ride, as we made our way to Atlanta this evening.  We checked into the hotel and divided up for some different dinner options.  After dinner, the Truesdell crew gathered in the lobby to reflect back on the day, recounting details they remembered from the tour and things they are looking forward to over the next week.

Atlanta tomorrow!

VIP Anna talks to group on McLean porch