Spring Has Sprung – NOT!

Walking to work, carefully avoiding icy patches, it is hard to believe that Spring officially begins on Thursday at 12:57 p.m. As my husband likes to say, “We’re not experiencing global warming, we’re experiencing global weirdness!” It has been an unusual few weeks, and now we find ourselves scurrying to catch up with the frenzy that marks the second half of spring semester.

However, before I get completely caught up in the busyness of this time of year, I want to pause and look back for a moment on the spring break that just occurred. Thirteen students, two staff colleagues, and I traveled to Atlanta for an urban immersion Alternative Spring Break. Unlike some ASB trips, we focused less on direct service projects and instead invested time and energy learning about issues related to race and reconciliation and housing insecurity through the lens of those who live in the Atlanta area. Here are some both serious and silly “take-aways” that marked our time in this urban community:

• The Varsity is the world’s largest drive-in restaurant and a must-see dining experience no matter what your tastes. French fries or onion rings? Why yes, thank-you, I’ll have both.
• The history of slavery and racism continues to haunt us. We learned about the horrible riot of 1906 in Atlanta in which African Americans were falsely accused of heinous crimes. “Officially, 25 blacks and one white died. Unofficially, over 100 may have died.”
• We visited the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where its most famous member, Martin Luther King, Jr., was baptized as a child, ordained as a minister and became a co-pastor with his father, “Daddy” King. Sadly, we also learned that Martin’s mother, Alberta Williams King, was killed on June 30, 1974 inside that church by a deranged gunman, as she played the organ at a Sunday service.
• Housing Insecurity affects thousands in Atlanta and elsewhere, even those who are employed but cannot afford the rising cost of rent, food, and other necessities. Many different agencies and support services are needed to assist the housing insecure as they navigate the journey away from homelessness. Each of us was challenged to discover opportunities to help them find safe and secure homes, which is something that most of us take for granted.
• Living in close quarters with friends and strangers builds community: sharing two showers stalls with 60 other people, negotiating and compromising about daily details of life – where to eat, when to get up in the morning, and when to shut up at night so others can sleep, etc.
• Last lesson I learned is that Lynchburg College still has the best students and staff colleagues a person could ask for. I was so proud of the way in which our students represented our campus. They asked thoughtful questions, shared in all the work and tasks that needed to be completed, and knew how to have fun every step of the way and every mile of the long van ride back and home.

This spring break I caught a glimpse of the “beloved community” described by Martin Luther King, Jr. himself: “It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opposers into friends. It is this type of understanding goodwill that will transform the deep gloom of the old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age. It is this love which will bring about miracles in the hearts of men.”

Peace, Anne