DIVERSITY CORNER
DIVERSITY CORNER
The Civil Rights Trail : A Trip Every Lawyer Should Take
ANA CRISTINA MALDONADO
Alabama ?! Why not a nice beachside hotel or an Orlando resort ? People were puzzled . Why had I chosen the civil rights sites in Alabama as the destination for the annual retreat of the ADR Section of The Florida Bar ? My explanation came from the heart : voluntary bar organizations can and should do more to offer members deeper shared experiences that teach , inspire , connect and renew . So , in September , fifteen of us set out on a four-day trip to Montgomery , Birmingham , and Selma .
Day 1 , Montgomery . Our trip began at Dexter King Memorial Church , where Rev . Dr . Martin Luther King , Jr . served as pastor from 1954 to 1960 . Our guide was the Hon . Vanzetta Penn McPherson , a retired federal magistrate judge and a member of the congregation . Judge McPherson wove her own story as a child in Montgomery with deep love of her church and her knowledge and passion for the law into an unforgettable experience
.
Day 2 , Birmingham . We walked through Kelly Ingram Park , where in 1963 , marchers — including the young marchers of the Children ’ s Crusade — were attacked by police with tear gas , dogs , and water cannons . Our tour of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute ( BCRI ) provided a history lesson on national and local events . Over a delicious BBQ lunch , our historianguide , Mr . Charles Woods III , facilitated a thought-provoking discussion about the difference between being “ non-racist ” and “ anti-racist .” Our day concluded with a tour of the 16th Street Baptist Church . Its 1963 bombing killed four little girls , and the horrified response helped drive the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act . Three members of the Ku Klux Klan were convicted , but justice took years ; one man was found guilty of the bombing in 1977 and two more were convicted in 2001 .
Day 3 , Selma . Together , we walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge , the launch point for the five-day Selma to Montgomery march and site of Bloody Sunday , March 7 , 1965 , where marchers were attacked by police and firefighters with water cannons and dogs . Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of this pivotal event .
That afternoon , we visited the Equal Justice Initiative ’ s ( EJI ) “ Legacy Sites ,” an incredible , internationally recognized museum complex consisting of the Legacy Museum , the National Memorial for Peace and Justice , and the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park . The Legacy Sites connect the terror and injustice of slavery , lynching , segregation , and mass incarceration , with a powerful belief that reconciliation and healing require truth and justice . “[ The Legacy Sites are ] a must see for any lawyer who believes in the rule of law and the promises in our Constitution ,” said Ret . Judge Lester Langer . The most powerful elements of the Legacy Sites highlight the moments where the promises of the 13th , 14th , and 15th amendments of the Constitution were not upheld . Included in the Memorial were the names of two men lynched in Palm Beach County : Henry Simmons ( June 7 , 1923 ) and Samuel
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 13
Nelson ( September 26 , 1926 ), along with jars of soil from the sites here in our county where they were murdered .
On our final morning in Montgomery , we had the privilege of viewing the city through the eyes of Wanda Battle . Now 68 years old , Ms . Battle grew up in West Montgomery and was a child during the civil rights era . Among her neighbors were Rosa Parks , the local NAACP ’ s Secretary and seamstress whose arrest in 1955 inspired the organization of the Montgomery Bus Boycott , which catapulted the 26-year-old Dr . King into leadership , lasted 381 days and involved around 40,000 members of the community . Ms . Battle also shared her personal history of “ the aftermath ” when her family was displaced in the 1970s by urban renewal , their home purchased for $ 3,500 and destroyed by the construction of a highway routed through West Montgomery . With a deep generosity of spirit , she guided us through a conversation about how we each experience segregation in our own lives , and when we connected with people beyond our own community .
Travel can be transformative , and plant seeds that grow for the rest of our lives . Ashlee Pouncy , who travelled with her mother , said “[ T ] here is no comparison to standing in the place where history was made [. …] This trip was more than a retreat , it was a lesson in finding a way forward , even when it seems impossible - a valuable lesson for all ADR professionals .”
The ADR Section plans to organize this trip on an annual basis . It will be open to any member of the Bar who wishes to participate .
Ana Cristina Maldonado is the 2024-2025 Chair of the ADR Section of The Florida Bar . A full time neutral for 13 years , she is currently Associate Professor at Nova Southeastern University ’ s Shepard Broad College of Law .