The Rev. Susan Karlson wrote this prose after crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge with our group on the Pilgrimage:

"Crossing Over"

I walked the "Bridge" today
over the most beautiful flowing river,
under the most beneficent blue skies.
Together in pairs,
we walked--
silently, prayerfully.
We crossed the bridge,
imagining a different blue sea below--
a sea of blue deputies
with clubs, tear gas,
on horseback--
there to greet the marchers. 

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By John Blevins
On Monday, Oct 8th, the Pilgrimage group met with several civil rights activists in Marion, Perry County, Alabama. Willie Nell Avery, chief election commissioner in Marion was one of them. She fascinated us with tales from her work. She reported that she had just recently discovered, almost by accident, that “many” voters had been struck from her voter rolls, without announcement. She is now in the process of trying to figure out the full scope of the problem. Fascinatingly, she told us that one company or agency (I think it was ESS, but I need to do more research on this) does all the voter registration processing for the whole country. I find it frightening to think that other registrars may not be as diligent as Ms. Avery. Who knows what may have happened in other jurisdictions. Is this an isolated incident? A new book by investigator Greg Palast, “Billionaires and Ballot Busters” suggests it may not be. I just ordered my copy.

By the Rev. Dawn Cooley
I wish that I could bring you along on this Living Legacy Civil Rights Pilgrimage, because I could write a sermon or even a book on what we experience each day. Choosing what to write here, in such a limited format, is difficult. Particularly on a day as powerful as today, day 3.

We arrived in Marion, AL this morning, at a small, unassuming church. We walked up and down the street, looking at the historical markers. If you didn’t already know, you would never guess that the idea for the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965 started with this small town of 3500.

And yet it did.  More...

By the Rev. Dawn Cooley
Because I am a mother, it is probably not surprising that one of the things that has captivated me today and occupied much of my emotional energy on this second day of the UU Living Legacy Civil Rights Pilgrimage is the role of children in the civil rights movement.

I had no idea that there had been a Children’s Crusade as an essential part of of the movement here in Birmingham. In the spring of 1963, over the course of several days, thousands of children and youth flooded the streets in nonviolent protest. They exited 16th street baptist and filled the Kelly Ingram park across the street. The police had dogs and firehoses. Hundreds of children were arrested and put in jail. The jails were jammed, as were the jails in neighboring towns. I heard stories today from one man, 11 at the time, who was able to escape thought many of his friends were arrested. And stories from a woman who was 12 who was arrested and put into jail along with many of her compatriots.

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By the Rev. Dawn Cooley
What is the difference between a tour and a pilgrimage? The short answer, in this specific instance, is that a pilgrimage is something that changes the person. At the end of the pilgrimage, the person is not the same, s/he is transformed.

This specific instance I am talking about is the Unitarian Universalist Living Legacy Civil Rights Pilgrimage. I am currently in Birmingham, AL, having just about finished the first day: a day of driving to get here, orientation, and, not surprising, I have already shed the first of what I am sure will be many tears. More...