Where It Began

After walking through Birmingham’s civil rights history, I wanted to see Montgomery, the city where the bus boycott helped set the whole movement in motion.

Dexter Avenue runs straight up to the Alabama State Capitol, the same road the Selma marchers walked to finish their journey. Along the way stands Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where Dr. King was pastor during the boycott. Court Square Fountain sits where enslaved people were once bought and sold, and nearby, the Equal Justice Initiative works to make sure that history is never forgotten.

Montgomery holds both the worst and the best of the American story within a few city blocks. Walking those streets, I felt the weight of what happened there and the courage of the ordinary people who refused to accept it.