We left Memphis this morning. But not without the Singleton family taking us to their absolute favorite restaruant - Cracker Barrel. It would have been mediocre at best, if Mr. and Mrs. Singleton didn't think it was the greatest thing ever. It is really hard to dislike something when the nicest, most kind-hearted southerners are so enthused about it.
Memphis was a great city for our first stop. We were so welcomed. We met some incredible people, experienced Southern Hospitality at its best.
Memphis is a very interesting city. I always thought, "Oh Memphis...blues, BB King, the South, civil rights...cool." It is not such a nice quaint Southern haven. It is one of the most racially divided cities in America, despite being the heart of MLK's civil rights movement, and his deathplace. It is quite segregated: white people in the suburbs, black people in the city. White kids go to incredible private schools, black children, the city schools, some of the worst in the nation. As it city, it has some of the nation's deepest racial tensions and violence.
Despite all this, we met incredible people - people who love, humor, compassion, and hope. What Invisible Children has the potential to do to bring communities together is incredible. We saw the students from Rhodes College (mostly white, rich, liberal arts school downtown) get excited about partnering with students from nearby Central High (mostly black, inner-city, poor kids) for Schools For Schools.
So we are now in Martin, TN - a small town in northern TN. We have a screening at UT Martin tonight, then we are on to Franfurt, KY tomorrow morning. We'll have to leave before 5am to make the 5 hour drive.
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1 comment:
it all sounds amazing blake
you should be so proud of yourself. thank God for people like you who will dedicate themselves to a project like this =)
i'll keep checking in
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