Community Blog Tamid Travels South for Civil Rights Journey
Twenty-eight Tamid adult learners traveled to Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham over November 10-12 to learn about the civil rights struggles of the 1950s & 60s. The group visited sites and museums memorializing the movement for African American enfranchisement and equality, including MLK Jr’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. “Traveling with this diverse group of adults, offered a warm, thoughtful and supportive space to consider the history of the Civil Rights Movement,” says Tamid Director Kim Bodemer, who traveled with the group. “We had the chance to dive into what it means to be in relationship with others, to hear and internalize stories, to notice the progress we’ve made and chart a course to continue the work to build a more just world.
Below we share a set of reflections and highlights from our travelers, lightly edited:
About Sunday morning worship and visiting the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Atlanta…
“My takeaways: the power of shared music to shape experience. A religious organization where the leadership feels free to speak their mind.”
“If I were home this weekend, I would have gone to my shul there – for community, comfort, some sense of hope. I experienced all of that today at Ebenezer Baptist Church and with Pastor Warnock. And every person my eyes met at the church met my eyes with warmth and a smile, to which I ‘replied’ similarly. It felt like community.”
“Rev. Warnock’s sermon was really inspiring in its timely message. I am grateful. I’m thinking now about when we need a rousing talk and energetic music rather than quiet time and careful parsing of text and meaning.”
“The atmosphere made me/everyone feel at home, including first timers and visitors. I was also very taken at the MLK Memorial by the explanation Non-Violence Philosophy and its Six Principles.”
About the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama…
“I was blown away when I asked the young folks working there why the memorial slabs were hung at different heights. They explained that the slabs start at the ground and get progressively higher to replicate a body being hoisted into the air. Chills.”
“The higher they went, the harder to read the individual names. Sobering.”
“I’m sitting with the overwhelming scale, horror and depth of entrenched problems. The question is how can we keep our eyes on the prize and make more lasting change towards more social justice.”
“Whenever I walk through a Holocaust museum I often think about who could do this and what other people could turn their backs while they’re doing this. I had the same thoughts today.”
“The commitment and conviction of the women in the Montgomery bus boycott, as depicted in the museum, was very powerful.”
“The sites powerfully captured America’s deep racist history. We haven’t done enough to heal the wounds.”
Learn more about Tamid of Hebrew College travel experiences and our May 2025 trip to Central Europe.