Yesterday we went to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, a museum dedicated to civil rights with a focus in Alabama. It was set up like a timeline where you could walk through and see a chronological list of events from the year. Something that really struck me about the timeline was how the people in the movement and change being made extended far beyond the 1960s, which I knew, but the white power structures who abused and hurt people in the South also stayed for decades beyond the 1960s. This shocked me because I guess that in my head I always assumed that people like George Wallace would have just almost disappeared in defeat after the 60s. And I guess that is a little bit ridiculous now that I think about it, but it had never really occurred to me before that he and his wife would hold power up until the 1990s. It angered me that someone who indirectly caused so much pain and even death could go unpunished, and I thought about all the abusive, racist leaders today who will also go unpunished, like the Governor of Michigan and Mayor of Flint for ignoring the toxic water. It also angered and shocked me how long it took for the masterminds of the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombings to be prosecuted, and how so many people who killed others also just continued on with their lives. It just seems so unjust and backwards that people could just ignore this and not constantly be angry with this system. I was also angry at myself for not realizing the injustices that still continue to go unpunished, but I want others to know how many crimes done out of hatred are not punished.
Carolyn Sacco, Baltimore City College
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