Northern Line-Battle of Vicksburg

Next we docked in Vicksburg, Mississippi where we toured a civil war battlefield. This stop left the biggest impression on me. I had never been to a battlefield before. This really brought the horrors of war to life for me for the first time. The battle of Vicksburg is considered to be the most important battle of the civil war, at least by our tour guide. Taking this port and town was key for the North to split the Confederacy in half at the river and keep supplies from getting to the southern troops on either side. After two failed attempts to capture the city outright, General Grant decided to begin a siege on the city that lasted 47 days. They surrounded the city and its troops and kept supplies from getting in. Soon the southern troops ran out of food and other supplies. Many also got sick because the Northern troops poisoned their water supply by leaving dead animals in the creeks. We saw where the Northern line was stationed with cannons that fired in the midst of the Southern line to blow up bodies. We saw a hill where Northern troops were massacred as they climbed up to break through enemy lines. The number of troops that were still able to fight from the south were cut in half before they finally surrendered.  Why did these men hold out for so long? I think they were desperate to keep their way of life from being ruined. They had chosen to build their economy on the crumbling foundation of slavery. For instance, at Nottoway Plantation, the family had to sell the plantation after the war because they couldn’t afford to keep it after they started paying their workers. Their wealth creation had been based more on not paying the help than on supply and demand.

Balcony of Lorraine Motel where MLK was assassinated

Our last port was Memphis, Tennessee when we stayed a few extra days after the cruise. We first went to the National Civil Rights Museum. Interestingly, the museum was made from the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King JR, the pastor and civil rights leader, was assassinated back in the late ’60s. I wasn’t expecting to see this. The motel sign and front façade of rooms with balconies is still there. A wreath is hung on the balcony railing where King stood when he was shot outside his 2nd floor room. We were able to look in his room and through the window onto the balcony. It was eerie seeing tourists stare back at us from the sniper’s next of the assassin in the building across the street. How very sad. King did nothing wrong. He was just speaking up, non-violently, for equal rights. As I saw the history of slavery and segregation exhibits in the museum, I felt ashamed of how terribly my race had treated another one, especially in America. I was also afraid that someone would look at me with eyes of anger or condemnation. Thankfully no one did.

The next day we took a walking tour on Beale Street, the main street for music in Memphis. Our guide said that before the ‘middle ’60s, Beale street was the dividing line between black and white neighborhoods. But musicians from all races made music together on Beale. We went to Sun Records where Elvis Presley got his start, but before him Sam Phillips, the white owner, had already recorded black musicians like Ike Turner and others. He wanted to record everyone with talent regardless of color. It’s neat that God has used music to bring people together. At the Rock and Soul Museum, I watched videos of black and white musicians playing together in jazz bands.

On the cruise, there were only white people as guests. My sister and I as well as others thought this was strange. I reasoned that no blacks would want to be there to see the old South glorified. But now looking back, I don’t see the trip as being about this. I think it was about the truth of where we’ve been as a nation on relations between black and white people and how far we have come. I think black people should go on a cruise and to museums like this to see for themselves.

Sometimes today’s media and schools distort what racism is or the progress we’ve made to abolish it. I saw real racism at the civil rights museum when black people were prevented from drinking at the same water fountains as whiles or not allowed to eat in white’s only restaurants or sleep in white’s only hotels. I think that most of the people in Memphis have gotten it that we’ve made a lot of progress, at least the people I met.  No one stared at me in anger or condemnation at the civil rights museum. Everywhere we went all people, regardless of race, were very kind, friendly, and respectful to me. It is so good to experience grace.