The Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta


Reflections by Eleanor Kimbro

When we made it to the Center of Civil and Human Rights, I was really excited to get to see one of their most famous exhibits - The Lunch Counter Experience. I had read an article before we had left describing it as a simulation of a peaceful sit-in, and I saw stories of people saying just how jarring it was, but I was not prepared for what it was like at all. Four of us at a time sat down together and placed our hands flat on the table. We closed our eyes and put our headphones on. There was a moment of silence, and then we were suddenly in the middle of a loud diner. We heard an African-American man sitting with us speaking calmly to us, telling us how everything is going to be okay, and that we will be just fine if we're nice and quiet. A moment later, we're ambushed with loud crashing, stomping, and slamming fists on the bar. There's a lot of unintelligible yelling and glass breaking, which was enough to make my stomach curl up, but then came the worst part. The crowd died out and all that was left was one voice which slid from ear to ear, hissing violent threats and breathing heavily. I made it through the minute-and-a-half-ish recording, but I was constantly reminding myself that it wasn't real, that I wasn't there. So I cannot begin to imagine what that same experience must have been like for those brave men and women who voluntarily sat down again and again, knowing they could be beaten or killed.


I think if I could only take my family back to one place from this trip, I would choose the CCHR. In addition to the sit-in experience, there were three floors of beautiful, brilliant, interactive exhibits telling the stories of different human rights movements and explaining what still needs to be done. While I ended up going through the whole building twice, I know I couldn't have gotten more than half of all the information they had, so I look forward to when I'll get to visit again.  

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;
indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

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