Durham, NC -- Montgomery, Alabama, CSA

Been a bit busy this week, but I wanted to wrap up my Southern trip from last week. I spent a couple of hours last Friday in Montgomery, Alabama, which may be the most backwards of all of our state capitals. If it weren't the capital of the state, it wouldn't have any worth at all (they should just move the capital to Birmingham, which was fairly nice). As I've remarked to several friends and colleagues, the Capitol Building, which of course I visited, might as well have been the Capitol for a state in the Confederate States of America, which it in fact was for the first three months of the Civil War.



The first thing you see when you walk into the front door is a statue to late Governor Lurleen Wallace, also the wife of late Governor George Wallace.



The two are prominently featured on the second floor. The two are considered heroes in the South for their firm stance on "States' Rights" (segregation) in the 1960s and '70s. Said George Wallace: "In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw a line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say: segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."



Look up to the third floor, and you see a nice painting of Jefferson Davis orchestrating the secession from the Union.



It's not the only place in the Capitol where Davis is featured, but there isn't one single mention of a President Abraham Lincoln... hmmm...

I rarely visit judicial buildings in state capitals, but I had to visit this one, as it's the place where Judge Roy Moore had erected his massive statue of the Ten Commandments. All that's left there is a lonely looking space on the floor by the window.



I was a little disappointed as I was preparing to leave Montgomery, as normally when I go to state capitals, I manage to chat with someone interesting, like a governors' aide, but the Capitol in Montgomery was deserted. I made my walk back up the hill towards the Capitol to my car when I saw a really unlikely sight: a solitary man in front of the Capitol marching with a peace sign.



The protester, who goes by the name of Quillan, hails from Sacramento and has decided to march every day at 3:45 in front of Alabama's Capitol Building. He's doing a great thing, and I voiced my support. While I was speaking to him, a few people driving by honked and waved in agreement and appreciation. I hope others join him in his efforts, but he says that even if they don't, he'll be happy that he got to say his piece.

By the way, the next post will include a few new photo albums if I've got time. I'm in North Carolina this week for the annual CAJE conference, and I return home on Wednesday to see Fastball at the Albany Food Festival.

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