home february 26 february 27 february 28 february 29 march 1 march 2 march 3 march 4 march 5 reflections bios		february 28: atlanta, part 1. mlk and cnn. by jeb singer jlsinger@umich.edu While embracing issues of civil rights and the academic field surrounding them, we in actuality face many dilemmas that are present in society. I feel that on this trip the members have various backgrounds that incite a great deal of political debate. Those backgrounds include journalist, history teacher, democratic socialist, social organizer and community studies scholar amongst others. Therefore, every issue that we have discussed, for better or for worse has somehow acquired a political overtone. To me this shows that the people on this trip have at least an introduction to becoming leaders and activists. One of the central themes of our discussion today after visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. Center was how our heroes stemmed from people not unlike ourselves. It is important to recapture this intensity as we continue along the road. One of the interesting questions that followed the discussion of King's life and rise to greatness was our own motivations to come on this trip. I believe that this was a notion I have been considering long after I made the commitment to do so. After all, I like to throw down as much as the next guy or girl and in the spring breaks and college weekends preceding and following this one, I have gotten and will get a bit sloppy. This is beside the point because I am staying clear of any devilish action for this ten-day span of time. Actually, we are exposing ourselves to a whole lot of do-gooders. I think that in some ways we on this trip are continually being testing to be do-gooders and striving do what are both civilly and morally righteous. This idea of doing well has manifested itself every time any of us has not let our patience run out, allowed ourselves to be exposed to new things and not complained about our soberness and the thinking requirements that are associated with this sensory experience. I feel that despite all our various social, extracurricular and educational backgrounds we are have decided as of yet to be a civilized group of people. We have chosen to believe in something bigger than ourselves and instead of going from Detroit to Cancun we have decided to stop at every Stinky Creek, Tennessee; Ninety-Six, North Carolina and Peachtree, Georgia. Joe Gonzalez said that his buddy, a professor from New Orleans, told him magical things happen on the road. I do believe that this is true we are exploring a bit more of our unexplored mind. Rather than killing brain cells we are digging into new ones. This is cool, this is beautiful. While talking about all our lives, aspirations and views it is important to remember that we are out in the wild for a week living life. I don't know where we are going but I sure can wait to get there. We are strangers in a strange land, but we are civil. Jeb Singer is a freshman at the University of Michigan hailing from Pelham, NY. He attended Northfield Mount Hermon School in Northfield, MA. While there he got out of the classroom and devoted himself to wrestling, baseball, environmental rights, peer education and other endeavors. Going back to the super-unknown is a passion of his and what makes him a civil man.	click the photo below to enlarge The home where Martin Luther King, Jr. was born. The reflecting pool in which MLK Jr.'s tomb lies. MLK's tomb is in the middle of the pool of water to, among other reasons, prevent vandalism. The "eternal flame" across the reflecting pool from MLK's tomb. It burns on to show that MLK's vision and his mission burns forever on. Jeb and the group entering the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where MLK Jr. and his father were preachers, and where he grew up. The group speaking with a National Park Service guide in the Ebenezer Baptist Church More of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. Joe,Juliana and Natalie in front of the CNN logo. The CNN logo and flags of every nation on earth. The CNN newsroom from above. Top CNN anchor Lynne Russell delivering a CNN Headline News live broadcast. Michael and the group in line for TalkBack Live. The taping of TalkBack Live. More TalkBack Live.

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