It’s now 9:20 PM  on Sunday evening.  We’re at a Doublrtree hotel in Greensboro,  NC, and I’m exhausted!
Our first stop today was at Appomattox, the site of the surrender by Robert E, Lee  to  Ulysses Grant that ended the Civil War on April 12,
Today was a perfectly lovely day, with temps in the lower 70s, clear blue skies, and a little breeze.  The Appomattox NP is , at this time in history a lovely site amid rolling green pastures and with towering trees .  I had a hard time getting my head around the idea of gunfire, bloody men screaming in pain, the General tumult of War.  A park ranger did a good job of presenting information about the various maneuvers by each side in the days leading up to the surrender, but it was hard to connect her talk with any real humanity. I enjoyed talking some with a group of re-enactors, though.  There was not much in their conversation or the ranger talk that related to what, if any, role, the black folks of the area played.  I enjoyed strolling around, but left feeling somewhat disappointed.
Next stop: Danville,  VA. WE were welcomed to town by the site of a huge Confederate  flag .  To be fair, there is ongoing controversy about its presence. We visited the Fine Arts Museum, which is House in a historic ante-vellum mansion that was owned by a Colonel Southerin who was a tobacco grower and one of the founding fathers of the town.  The film was made in 1999 and is AWFUL,  It is made to appear that Mr Southerin acquired his great wealth and was able to establish the town all due to his own efforts.  Little or no mention was
Made of the enslaved people who grew and picked and processed his tobacco.  A very slanted view of history, several of our black pilgrims voiced their anger and distress at the film being shown to our group.  I could feel my usual discomfort with confrontation, but took some deep breaths and made myself engage in conversation during the break that followed.  It’s so interesting to hear all the various perspectives, if I can just stay in the room — emotionally as well as physically!  Once again I was taught to not assume that I know how someone else sees the world!
After a break, we heard from a panel of older black people who had participated in the protests and demonstrations for Civil Rights that occurred in the summer of 1963.  Danville, as it turns out, was an extremely segregated place and very difficult for Black people to live in.  Hearing the stories of these folks was moving .  They were all so young at that time, yet had stood up to White supremely and extreme forms of racism.  I kept thinking about how clueless I was at that time — being in college and only marginally aware of all that was happening outside of my own little world.  There is a certain shame that comes with those memories.
I won’t even go into the chaos of arriving at our hotel!  Suffice it to say that dinner was a time of some real sharing , especially by one black woman who had been really affected by today’s events and shared some difficult parts of her own story as a black mother raising four sons in Charlottesville.  I was so impressed by her willingness to open herself.  She gave us at the table a real gift.  We need to handle it with great tenderness.
Now i’m Off to bed!  Breakfast starts at 6!!