"Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope." -- Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from his 1963 "I Have A Dream Speech."
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's basketball team visited the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Friday afternoon between games against Samford.
The Spartans finish their two-game set against the Bulldogs with a Saturday matinee starting at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.
However, for a few hours, the Spartans were learning about the significance that the city of Birmingham played during the Civil Rights movement. The visit was made special because it was the 92nd birthday of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"This certainly feels a lot more impactful than sitting around in practice talking about MLK quotes and reading the 'I Have A Dream' speech," UNCG head men's basketball coach
Wes Miller said. "I think we've talked about since the George Floyd murder back in the summer being committed to education. This is one of the things we wanted to do as a program in response to that. This kind of stuff is emotional, it's sad, but it's important for all of our young people to enlighten ourselves as to what's going on with our recent history."
The tour started with an emotional eight-minute video detailing the history of Birmingham.
There were powerful replicas of white and Black classrooms in 1953, the separate water fountains (one for whites and the other for colored), the cell in which King wrote his historic "Letter From Birmingham Jail", and several compelling videos detailing the horrific incidents of the Civil Rights era.
Reflective players gazed intently at the exhibits while absorbing every morsel of information on the displays.
They were awed by the persistence, strength and resilience of Rosa Parks, the Freedom Riders, King, and several other icons of the Civil Rights era. Players looked at the wall showcasing the articles and photos from the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, killing four girls, with solemn faces.
"Today was really heart touching," UNCG freshman forward
Dericko Williams said. "There was a lot of things that I didn't know before coming here today. It hit some points in my heart. For one, the 16th Street bombing and the little girls that were in there that's still alive today and going through challenges today. That touched me."
The knowledgeable tour guide even choked up briefly when describing the scene at the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma in 1965, which became forever known as "Bloody Sunday." She made the comparison between King and Colin Kaepernick. They both took a knee to raise awareness about social injustice, systemic racism, and police brutality.
"It was good to see what went on back then," UNCG junior guard
Kaleb Hunter said. "I was kind of surprised. I was talking with my teammates because some of the things that were going on back then is still happening now. It's crazy to see that history. I learned a lot. The story of Rosa Parks was most impactful for me. I thought I already knew everything about her not giving up her seat on the bus, but I didn't know that there were five other ladies before her."
Reading and hearing about is history is one thing; but being able to hear voices from those who experienced segregation and witness images of the era such as a Klu Klux Klan robe, a police officer's billy club, and a hollowed out shell of a burned Greyhound bus, made a lasting impact for the Spartans.
"I feel like it's really good to see everything that happened in our nation and what people went through and had to go through in fighting for equality," UNCG freshman
Jarrett Hensley said. "It was interesting. I learned a lot. It was very impactful to be here with my team and have this shared learning experience."
Meanwhile, 478 miles north in Greensboro, UNCG staff members April Albritton, Kiara Porter, Jeff Gross, Kristin Rusboldt, Stefani Workman, Jennifer LePore, Cole Henderson, along with Sean Rusboldt (Kristin's husband) and Serene Justice Daniels and her father Byron Daniels from North Carolina A&T visited the National Civil
Rights Museum a few hours later on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021.
