Our Legacy

Wisdom

On our walk to the Ravello restaurant the previous evening, we saw this Maya Angelou quote on the side of a building. The next morning as we approached the Legacy Museum, we found this same quote on the back of the building.

Curiosity

We had 9 am tickets. After a six-minute walk, we arrived early. On the deck out front were tables for attendees to gather while we waited for the opening.

At a nearby table, a group gathered wearing matching t-shirts … Converge …  biblical diversity … immersive experience. I watched them for a while, my curiosity mounting.

Finally, I stretched my introverted self and approached them, asking them to tell me about their group.

First a young woman who turned out to be a staff person responded. She gave me an elevator speech and then turned to a gentleman sitting behind her. Turns out he was Dr. Harold Lewis, Vice President of Converge’s Office of Biblical Diversity.

He quoted one of my favorite verses in the Bible:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

~Galatians 3:28

He explained that their program deals with all kinds of diversity … two of which touch my life in an up close and personal way … disabilities & aging … adding “Lots of people think diversity is only about race.”

You can meet Dr. Lewis and learn more about their ministry and mission here:

I asked where they were from. When they said Florida, my eyes widened and I exclaimed, “Wow! You have a lot of work to do down there.”

They laughed and nodded in agreement. Then I told them a bit about Ohio politics … with a governor who in a quiet, sneaky way is just as outrageous.

Proud of myself for reaching out, we had a most interesting exchange.

Legacy Museum

The Legacy Museum is located steps from one of the most active slave auction sites in America. This sign in the lobby gave witness to policies in our country that continue slavery in another form.

We were not able to use our cameras beyond the lobby.

Entering the Exhibit

As we exited the lobby and rounded the corner, we were transported into a vast ocean of roaring waves. Lurking in the depths lay two million black human beings. Buried at sea, they didn’t survive the traumatic voyage across the Atlantic. The ten million who did survive were packed side by side in the hulls of ships built for this purpose.  

The museum told the story of kidnaping, slavery, tortured lives, trauma passed down from generation to generation leading to mass incarceration today … a continuing fight for freedom and justice.  

This YouTube video will give you a flavor of the experience that awaited us.

You will find more at this site. If you haven’t yet visited the museum, I urge you to click on this link to see some of what we saw. The Museum is very well done and so extensive, it is impossible to absorb it all in one day.

A Story of Hope

One of my favorite stories from Just Mercy involved Bryan Stevenson’s encounter with a prison guard on one of his visits to see a client. This client had a heartbreaking story. He was disabled and mentally ill. Both his parents died before he was one. By two he was in foster care. By 8, he had been in 19 different foster care homes experiencing one horrific event after another. At 10, his foster family was so rigid, he was in constant turmoil. His story goes downhill from there. 

Pulling into the parking lot, Bryan was shaken by the sight of a pickup truck adorned with troubling images of guns, Southern identity, and Confederate flag decals.

From family stories and his own experiences, including with judges in court rooms, he was well aware of the post-Reconstruction era in American history and the vestiges that remain today. He tried to regain his focus as he turned toward the prison’s front gate.

He was met by a new-to-him white corrections officer who stood in front of him, blocking him and snarling questions about his reason for being there. The officer broke with protocol and insisted on strip-searching Bryan. Then he insisted that Bryan sign the family/friend visitation log in addition to the one reserved for attorneys. He clearly enjoyed his power over Bryan.

Bryan worked hard to maintain his composure. Before allowing Bryan entry to the visitation yard, the guard made it clear that the truck out front belonged to him.

What I found sad is that in addition to Bryan’s anger with the guard, which he had to suppress in order to do right by his client, he was even more irritated by his own powerlessness. 

Other clients warned Bryan to steer clear of that guard who mostly worked the night shift. However, on the day of the hearing for this mentally ill, disabled, abused-in-foster care client, that guard with the bad reputation transported Bryan’s client to his hearing. As a result, he overheard Bryan’s defense of his client which included the story of his abuse in foster care.

The next time Bryan visited this client after the hearing, that ominous truck was in the parking lot. He prepared himself for a repeat of his first experience with him. However, the guard greeted him warmly and seemed to genuinely want to interact with him. Gone were the outside-of-protocol demands.

Turns out the guard had been raised in foster homes, too, and, listening to Bryan’s defense, he realized there were other people who had it as bad as he did and worse. Listening had been difficult for him. It brought back lots of memories. And it made him realize how angry he still was. He worried about whether or not he could heal from all his bitterness.

Bryan comforted him. “Oh, I think we can always do better. The bad things that happen to us don’t define us. It’s just important sometimes that people understand where we’re coming from.”

Before Bryan entered the visitation area, they actually laughed together. The guard even revealed something kind he had done for Bryan’s client during the transport from the hearing back to prison. Bryan was incredulous and stunned.

Not long after, that correction officer resigned and Bryan never saw him again.

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

~Maya Angelou

Personal Responses

Before Diana and I embarked on our trip, a friend said she hoped it wouldn’t be depressing for us. Diana and I talked about that as we drove the many miles to our destinations in Alabama. For us, depressing experiences are a part of LIFE. Sometimes depression is an appropriate response and not to be avoided. We were not troubled by the prospect of feeling depressed as we confronted more deeply the truth of our nation’s history.

And while what we confronted was depressing, we were not depressed. We were humbled and it gave us hope.

In Diana’s Words:

“We were humbled by those who made it through all of this. We admire Bryan Stevenson for telling the story that needs to be taught in every school in this country. It is not just black history. For every citizen in this country, it is OUR HISTORY!!!”

Linda’s Words:

• Meaningful
• Amazing
• In Awe (admiration)
• Overwhelmed
• Troubled  
• Challenged 
• Beholden (humbled)
• Hopeful