National Park Photo Feature of the Week: Expedition National Parks/Civil Rights

nationalparkswitht

6 years ago

The Pettus Bridge in Alabama is part of the Selma-to-Montgomery National Historic Trail

Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T! On a regular basis, we’ll feature a favorite photo or two from a friend in the National Park community. Are you a National Park fan with a photo favorite you think would be great for this series? Send me a private message through the contact section of this blog!

Today is the National Park Service’s birthday. To celebrate, we’re bringing you a Civil Rights-themed post from our friends at Expedition National Parks.

About these photos»

Christine’s Expedition: Although I grew up very close to a national park, I didn’t realize what a treasure the NPS is until well after I had kids. My career has kept me overseas for almost all my adult life. I added some national park sites that were on my route for a road trip I planned with my oldest kids through the Midwest in 2015. We enjoyed these sites and learned so much that the following summer’s road trip was all about national park sites: “From Civil War to Civil Rights” through the south.
Date: 2017-2020
Photo Credit: Christine (Expedition National Parks)
About the photos:
- Edmund Pettus Bridge: This was the site of Bloody Sunday in 1965. The bravery of the marchers and activists on that bridge and throughout the civil rights movement continue to serve as an inspiration.
- Pullman: As Ranger Ve’Amber explained to us, Pullman National Monument combines interesting and important strands of labor and African-American history along with art and architecture.
- Alcatraz: Growing up in California, I only knew about Alcatraz in relation to its role as a prison. It wasn’t until we listened to a history podcast on the 1969 Occupation that I realized that it also played a role in the Indian activism movement.
- Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site: The Tuskegee Airmen had to fight two wars. One was against the Axis powers and the other against racial discrimination. The bravery and success of the Tuskegee Airmen and their fellow military helped to accomplish the integration of the the U.S. military in 1948. Their actions had a profound impact on the 1960s civil rights movement.

Alcatraz is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in Northern California

Meet Christine from Expedition National Parks»

I was very lucky to be able to take a year off , after our civil rights trek. In 2019-20 we traveled to even more sites. We made it to 85 sites in 18 states and two territories! The Corona pandemic prevented us from going to more but the beauty of the NPS is that the sites are preserved for the future enjoyment of all. We look forward to our family quest of visiting all 419 sites. We created a podcast so we could share our adventures and learning experiences and inspire more people of all ages to visit the lesser known parks, and to become Junior Rangers whose motto it is to “Explore, Learn, Protect.”. —Written by Christine from Expedition National Parks