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Traveling to Birmingham, AL, was my first trip to the Deep South. Being born and raised on the west coast and having no relatives who live in the south, I had very little knowledge about the people, customs, or landscape of the southern states except what I had seen in films. Unfortunately, the TV & film industries have done its fair share over time to portray the most stereotypical southern folk possible so that was no help. Fleshing out and portraying sincere/true to life characters has never been a priority in the TV & film industries. Sure, I have met people from the south throughout the years, but not many.
Given this, stereotypes of southerners stirred in my head as we headed for AL. Why? My family had driven through TX last year and except for the fact that it was a bazillion degrees hot because it was July, everything was fine. What was it that had me believing that AL would be soooooo much different than TX? Is it because our purpose for going to Austin, TX was to visit our dear friends? Maybe this served as a comfort factor while driving through TX to their house. In contrast, our purpose for going to AL was not pleasure, it was business.
As I traveled to Birmingham I thought of the struggles that blacks have endured in the southern states throughout our nation's history. These struggles have not been fabricated like the events in a TV show; the struggle for civil rights for blacks in the Deep South has been very real. I hate to make gross overgeneralizations about folks (I learned this from my mother :); yet given its history, I think it was fair for me to have apprehensions about how my mixed race family would be received while traveling in the Deep South. Did our mixed race family receive looks/even stares from others as we traveled from TX to AL? Yes we did! Is that because we were in the south? No way to know for sure. I did receive one daunting stare from a man in a restaurant that was unsettling. However, most of the glances that came our way were accompanied by smiles or comments about how well-mannered or lovely the children are ; - )
Well, just like the saying goes, "things are never nearly as bad as what we think they will be" (or something like that). All in all, I enjoyed Birmingham. There is one stereotype about southerners that did prevail however, the one of southern hospitality . . . it’s true! For some reason friendly customer service and smiles seem to be plentiful here in the south. Maybe because of the heat . . . people have to take it slow and just have more time to smile :)
The highlight of Birmingham was without a doubt The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Even after having been to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, I can still say that the BCRI is a top notch facility. The exhibits are dynamic, personal, factual, and inspiring. Also, the content, presentation, and tone of the exhibits are extremely professional. I wish I would have had more time there. Two hours was not enough. The institute was constructed to sit right next to the 16th Street Baptist Church in reverence of the four girls who were killed in the bombing of the church in 1963. The church still has an active congregation today. During our visit, my entire family was quite taken back in different ways. Although my daughter enjoyed the institute from an historical point of view . . . it was visible to me that even at the age of 12 she found the racist attitudes and treatment of African Americans throughout the years very disturbing . . . as well she should.
Just down the street from the institute we found some excellent Soul Food at a restaurant called Mrs. B’s. Given that Birmingham is approximately 70% African American, I thought finding an African American owned restaurant would be easier. Anyway, Mrs. B’s has the best mac & cheese and cabbage ever . . . no low-fat food here in the south! Prices were reasonable and as we have become accustomed to in the south . . . the staff was friendly.
Side note: finding organic food in the southern states is extremely difficult. I don’t get it. There is so much farmland there. Yet, as we drove throughout the area, I saw very little in the way of food crops and a whole lot of tobacco growing. In WA, the availability of organic foods is abundant. Even in the chain supermarkets/grocery stores there are organic/healthy food options; however this is not the case in AL or the other southern states in which we traveled. Good thing I love mac & cheese!
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