Ramsey High School
The field trip to the Legacy Museum and Lynching Memorial is one that I will remember forever. I was overwhelmed with multiple feelings at once as I walked through the museum and explored the exhibits. It was an informative experience as well as one that made my heart heavy. Heavy for those whose lives were taken for no valid reason, not that there is a valid reason to take a life. Some of whom were about my age; I could not fathom having to go through what they did at my age or any age at all. The fate that those people suffered was awful, pain unimaginable. The lynching memorial especially saddened me because some people did not get to be memorialized properly. Many people had “unknown” where their names should have been or blanks within the dates of their demise. No one deserves to endure that however, that is the true history of America. Therefore, people should visit the museum and memorial to face the truth that was once America, especially those in my age group because we are the future. As the future, it is our responsibility to assure that our history is known and that history does not repeat itself.
By Jailah Wright
The experience of the field trip to the Legacy Museum and Lynching Memorial in Montgomery was educational and enlightening trip that helped me understand just how terrible and sick this country was to my ancestors. One of the most enlightening things I found there was that a man by the name of James Marion Sims is revered as the father of gynecology and how he got there. This man did multiple excruciating and dangerous experiments on black slave women without anesthesia. Yet when he had white woman volunteers he would make sure they were comfortable and offered anesthesia. In addition, what resonated with me the most was the “reasoning” behind the animalistic lynching of African-Americans in the South. For instance, one man refused to run an errand for a white woman and in response, he was lynched. Another was protesting the pay he was receiving and he was lynched. In addition, one of the worst was a woman who was protesting the lynching of her husband. In addition, in response she was beaten and burned alive. And when she survived both of those she was tied upside down under a bridge had her stomach cut open and had to watch as the mob stomped out her unborn baby. In conclusion, the field trip to the Legacy Museum and Lynching Memorial in Montgomery was an educational and enlightening trip that helped me understand just how terrible and sick this country was to my ancestors.
By Readus Linton
The Legacy Museum and Lynching Memorial was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The amount of names and recorded deaths in one area made my head spin. The different ways used to honor and remember their loved ones and friends made me wonder, how many more were out there, unrecognized. There was a wall dedicated to people who had lost their lives to lynching and the way they decided to honor them was to go to the spot of their death, gather dirt and place it in a jar. It was nice to see that these people, despite how stupid their reason for death was, did not die for no reason. What resonated with me the most is the amount of imprisoned colored people, (black, Hispanic, etc.) in this state. There was a 15- year old girl accused of something and was sitting in an adult, all women prison, on death row. The accuracy of history repetition is remarkable. Ida B. Wells wrote about the differences in consequences when it came to a black and a white doing the same crime. As long as racism has been out there, nothing will ever not be repeated.
By Niyah Gilmore
Ramsay’s trip to the Legacy Museum and Lynching memorial was an eye opening and emotional visit. Walking through The Legacy Museum revealed the transition between slavery to mass incarceration. I left with the idea that this country was not built for African Americans. Many people tend say, “The system is broken”, but really, the judicial system is working the way it was built. Though I have been knowledgeable about the history of lynching in America, the Lynching Memorial helped me realized how normalized this crime was in the South. I cannot wrap my head around the fact that white parents would expose these horrors to their children. One thing I noticed was that many families would be murdered on the same day. I remember asking myself, “What was going through these victims’ minds before they died”. This trip was heartbreaking, but I was enlightened that these innocent souls have two museums dedicated to their lives. Their pain has not been ignored; though they were treated like dirt when they were alive, today they are worthy and important. This trip was sad, but I needed this exposure to my people’s history.
By Camryn Cummings
My experience at the Legacy Museum and Lynching Memorial was very good. I learned so much about the struggles that African Americans had to endure in the fight for equality. Some the struggles are still being endured today. For example, mass incarceration is a problem still going on today. Black people are being thrown in jail without good reason and without fair sentencing. The legacy museum has examples of this in a way that was not boring and was interesting to interact with. The thing that resonated with me the most was my experience at the lynching memorial. So many people were hung for reasons as simple as walking down the street at the wrong time. The memorial paid tribute to most of not all the people who died due to lynching, even if their names were unknown. So many unknown people were killed at the same time on the same day and it was heartbreaking to see the number of groups that were killed so brutally just for being black. This trip was an experience that I will never forget and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn so much about my people’s past.
BY Tanisia Tucker