I am continuing my recollections of the jam-packed Martin Luther King weekend.  Where we covered Selma, Montgomery, Birmingham, and Atlanta.  Yesterday, I provided background and our Montgomery meanderings.

Friday night (Shabat), we all met at the Mishkan Israel synagogue in Selma.  (The charter bus took the two groups there; I managed to take the one (of two) “taxis” to the shul.  I was immediately struck by its similarity to Congregation Beth Israel building, in Charlottesville.  (At least when I moved there- and before we established Shabat (and holiday) services.  Oh, sure, this building had two rectangular turrets that Beth Israel (BI) lacked, but (almost everything else- BI had no visible organ) including the stained glass windows and the Magen David in the center of the building and the sides matched those of BI.

Oh, and this synagogue has some 7 members.  About the same number that obtained in Charlottesville, before we made it a thriving family chavura service.  (A chavura is a group that gets together to celebrate Shabat and holidays; in Charlottesville, we also had great pot-luck (dairy and vegetarian) lunches to keep folks coming each week.

Ronnie Leef (shul president) helped us have three services in the building.  It’s unknown how long it’s been since the 120 year old building had Shabat services- let alone one Friday evening, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon.   (Being an Orthodox congregation, we improvised a mechitza- a series of cloths splitting the seating down the middle to separate the genders.)

We then walked to the Carl Morgan Convention Center, a few blocks away.  (Note:  Orthodox Jews don’t use vehicles and don’t spend money (engage in commerce), among other Shabat taboos.)  The Selma police force provided us with a few “blue-light specials”, protecting us from traffic- and more importantly, making sure we didn’t get lost.

Our dinner was a simple affair.  Chicken, salad, potatoes (yes, I skipped them), and ice water.  (Hmm.  Now is probably a good time to remark that the weather – in the middle of January- was a balmy 70+ the whole trip.)  Not only our travelers, but folks from Mishkan Israel, plus the Mayor (Darrio Melton) and Councilwoman Susan Youngblood joined us.  I’m fairly certain that Mayor Melton was not prepared to be dragged into a hora with our rabbi!

And, when dinner was over, we all trekked back to our hotels.  I joined the group (surrounded by the intrepid Selma police vehicles) for the first mile- until we reached route 80.  When I veered off, a few of my friends wondered to where I was wandering.  (They had no idea I was at a different hotel.)  Given the fact that it had rained a few days prior, I managed to walk back to the hotel after an hour or so.  And, then, had to wash my shoes (fully encased in the “Black Belt” mud.  Oh, yeah, and take another shower so I could sleep in peace.

After a few hours of sleep, I got up and trudged over to shul.  I got there a little late. (I started my trek at 8:15 and reached shul around 10.   It’s not ideal to get there so late, since our shul generally whizzes through the service.)  After services, the shul provided us a Kiddush.  After which, we embarked on our all day tour of Selma.

Joanne Bland, a “survivor” of the original Selma to Montgomery March was our guide, who we met at the “interpretive center”.  (Yes, it’s called that because too many folks have their own “interpretations” of what happened during the Civil Rights Struggle.  Yeah, right…)   And, now is probably a great time to provide a little background.

Back when I stopped working for any GOP candidates (because they no longer met the standard of liberal or the more diluted ‘middle of the road’ point of view), I wondered why all of the Civil Rights struggles revolved about church activities.  After all, my yeshiva education had made it clear that it was dead wrong to enter a church.  (I’m sorry if this offends, but what most of you call statues we know to be the idols, about which we were warned to avoid.)  How could I help these folks and follow the strictures?

Well, consider this basic fact. Especially in the South, most Black residents had no access to meeting houses, couldn’t rent movie theaters (which generally barred them from even buying a ticket for a movie), etc.  So, they used what they had- churches.  And, most of the action- the nuts and bolts work- was done by the women of the community.  So, it’s not surprising that Joanne earned her stripes (not including her US Army kind) from her mom and grandma- in church.

Besides taking us around, Joanne shared some simple facts with us.  She reminded us she knew about freedom at an early age- especially the fact that Lincoln freed the slaves.  (Actually, by the time of the Emancipation Proclamation, the South had seceded.  So, technically, none of the slaves- who clearly resided in the Confederate States-  were freed.) But, she also knew she couldn’t enter the Carter Drug Store and have a pop.  Because “her kind” wasn’t allowed.  She understood, while looking through Carter’s plate glass window, that she would never be “free” until she could enjoy a meal or a pop at that counter.

She also reminded us that every single one of us is a critical piece in the greater picture.  We are simply jigsaw pieces that help complete the whole view.

Ms. Bland spoke about the two drugstores that still are contiguous to the Edmund Pettus Bridge.  She never mentioned the (repainted) Tepper Building.  That building reminded me that many of the local Jews were among the problem causers (segregationists) in Selma.

Tomorrow, we’ll finish this wonderful journey.