One snapshot of Alabama

Summer research interns come from across the country. One commented that he had never seen a confederate flag being displayed in public and didn't realize people still did that. I said, welcome to south and some people justify the flag as "heritage not hate" -- I don't know if he was convinced. (The Wikipedia article about flags used by the Confederacy is a brief and interesting history).

My drive to Tuscaloosa this weekend took me along backroad highways and through a couple small towns. Below are 3 pictures I captured. The first is of a church I noticed on the way up in Dayton (2000 census population: 60). Dayton had this church, a small old house, and two crumbling commerical buildings. The church looks very dignified and according to the sign was founded in 1819. When I drove back down on Sunday, around noon, there were no cars in sight, so I assumed it is not used regularly.

The second picture is of a store front in another town I passed through, Faunsdale (est 2005 population: 85) - to demonstrate a non-residential flying of the conferderate flag - which I have not seen that often.

Finally, a billboard from Thomasville, AL that references God and a wet/dry city vote (this website has a ton of collected date about Thomasville, and other towns). Some searches about Thomasville and the wet city/dry county issues led to two interesting finds. First a map of the wet and dry counties in AL and those that allow Sunday alcohol sales - in case you were wondering. Second, this letter to the editor , not about alcohol but God, addressing the issues of apologies for slavery. The person writes: "Let me first say that this is not about racism or the Rebel flag and never will be because it's about satanism! Satan is always at the root of any problem between people. You can never change or make up for the past!" and "To demand such a past apology from another is to control that person to do what you want and in God's eyes that would be witchcraft!"

These are just a few examples of what Alabama is like. Alabama also has beautiful land and nice people and a lot of history. I love Alabama, as I love the South in general. But, I do recognize that Alabama has its issues and peculiarities - like any place.