Monday, September 26, 2005

Symbol of Civility

RosaBusLoRes
"Ride On, Rosa" by Wes Aldridge

I wanted to share this shot from my time in Alabama and tonight is the night. The large and beautiful white building in the background of the shot is the Alabama State Capital. In the foreground is the bus Rosa Parks decided to assert her God given rights of equality on. The bus tours the city, rich in civil rights history, during the daytime. I just happened to be standing across the street from the capital building when the bus drove by. I think I was pretty lucky on this one. This one strikes me as being politically strong because the capital being a symbol of the Old South and the bus driving by representing the struggles from oppression that people of color fought against in the days of Rosa.

My time (short though it was) in Montgomery was special and I will be making another visit to this city. I really felt like I connected to it and there was much history that I needed to try and take in there. Something that I observed there struck me as strange. There was a quietness in the city streets. No loud traffic with engines revving and horns blowing. No people talking loudly or rushing about. No, there was only the breeze blowing through the air and the beads of sweat running down my back. I guess the tension in Montgomery in the past was enough noise to last a lifetime.