Viterbo University – Atlanta 2019

In the 1970’s a small group of three people began discussing their lack of Hindu places of worship or a Hindu mandir in Atlanta. Soon that small group gained a few members all of whom shared the same desires. Each member contributed $10,000 to achieve their goal of providing a place to worship Hindu teachings for the greater community and future generations. The current location is located on Highway 85. It is called the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir of Atlanta. The current location for the temple was chosen for its unique geographical contours and its close proximity to various highways and other high traffic roads.

The mandir itself was constructed out of hand carved Italian marble, Turkish limestone, and Indian pink sandstone (the Indian pink sandstone was used as the means for constructing the administration building to the right of the first picture shown above). The mandir was constructed using no additional foundational or structural materials other than the limestone and the marble. With this being the case, the hand carved pieces were constructed in such a way that they locked together to hold together the structure. There was a total of approximately ~34,000 separate pieces to construct this truly magnificent structure.

In Hindu temples, each ceiling tile has a separate meaning. The central most tile is of the utmost importance. During the construction of the building, the center piece was the last to be added because it locked the entire construction together upon placement. The pictures below show the truly beautiful and intricately detailed inner temple.

After construction 1.3 million hours’ worth of community service, $19 million, and 17 months from the day the workers broke ground, the Mandir of Atlanta, Georgia was inaugurated in August of 2007. Thousands of people flocked to the inauguration. Since then, the temple has seen over a million visitors over its time.

A common misconception of Hinduism is that it is polytheistic. The faith does worship a variety of idols, but they believe in one God. That monotheistic God exists in all things. Hinduism appears in every plain of the body, the physical, mental and spiritual. The emotions and intensity that one feels upon entering a structure such as this is awe-inspiring. Have the opportunity to witness the ceremonies that occur delay reveal a substantial lesson that can be learned, don’t judge a book by its cover.

The similarities that can be viewed when comparing Hinduism to Christianity is quite interesting. Most notably, how each religion makes use of food. The Hindu faith presents a full meal to the idols with the temple and allow them to, as I understand it, to both consume the essence and bless the food. Christians use food in a different way. We accept an offer from Jesus Christ in the form of his body and blood. This simple use of food is starkly different, but the difference in whom is presenting the food and whom is reserving the food is worthy of note.

The Mandir of Atlanta has brought a unique opportunity to the people of Atlanta. They have created an even more diverse population. The Mandir is located in the Lilburn suburb of Atlanta. It is primarily white community with little diversity. However, the community has begun to see a steady increase in the Indian population. The increasing in diversity helps to cultivate an ethical city by introducing different viewpoints and concerns. New Hindu communities will have a place to worship and have a general congregation place. In such a large city, it is important that people have individual outlets where that can receive more individualized support from a community they identify with. Additionally, the presence of the Mandir in Atlanta will help to make the residents more culturally competent.

References

“About Us.” Hindu Temple of Atlanta, hindutempleofatlanta.org/pages/about-hta.

“BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir – Atlanta – Manidr Info.” BAPS, www.baps.org/Global-Network/North-America/Atlanta/Mandir-Info.aspx.

Desai, Mahadev. “Atlanta Dunia.” BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir’s Inauguration Ceremony -Atlanta Dunia –, atlantadunia.com/dunia/News/N295.htm.

Doniger, Wendy, et al. “Hinduism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 15 Feb. 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism.

Lohr, Kathy. “Gleaming Hindu Temple to Open in Atlanta Suburb.” NPR, NPR, 15 Aug. 2007, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12753002.

Wikipedia contributors. “BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Atlanta.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 20 Apr. 2019. Web. 26 Apr. 2019.

Ponce City Market was opened in 2014 after fully renovating the Sears, Roebuck & Company building located in the Old Fourth Ward. The building was originally built in 1926 as a Sears, Roebuck & Co. retail store, warehouse and regional office. Approximately 30,000 Atlanta residents flocked to the grand opening in August of 1926 to marvel at the nine-story building, the largest brick structure in the Southeast.

After World War II, Sears completed a major expansion, bringing the building to more than 2 million square feet.

The Sears, Roebuck & Co. plant was booming through the 1960s, at its peak employing over 1,000 people. The construction of a freeway and suburbanization caused the once thriving 21,000 people residing in the Old Fourth Ward to shrink to just 7,000 by 1980. The company continually downsized retail operations until its eventual closure in 1989.

In 1990, the City of Atlanta purchased the building and converted it into a center for city offices. It was renamed City Hall East and housed the central offices of the police and fire departments as well as a city funded art gallery. Although the building was being used, those offices only filled 10% of the building and the rest sat empty. In 2010 the building was closed to the public and in 2011 was sold to a private equity group, Jamestown, who had plans to revive the old building.

Thirty years after the closing of the Sears, Roebuck & Co. building and a $300 million project overhaul, the Ponce City Market was formed. The first floor is filled with a variety of food options. From dine-in restaurants to grab-and-go stands, there was a gourmet Italian market, Indian street food, a European café and farmstand, a sushi bar and many more. The second floor of the market, as well as a large outdoor area on the back of the building, contained many shops and boutiques to browse while taking in the city life all around us.

The other eight floors contain offices of high-tech companies, industrial flats, and educational facilities. President of the Fourth Ward Alliance Neighborhood Association described its renewal as, “a building that’s gotten an opportunity to live multiple lives…it is once again going to be a job center and activity center.” Ponce City Market became large community gathering place that was established from an old building in downtown Atlanta.

There are many positives and negatives to the renovation. One positive is that the historic building in the Old Fourth Ward is not sitting empty and has been revived. But the remodel of the Sears, Roebuck & Co. building is called gentrification. Gentrification is the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste. Due to gentrification all around the neighborhood, the predominately black area of the Old Fourth Ward has seen an influx of whites. The question is, is this a good thing? Yes, whites are moving back into the city centers that they had left during the urban sprawl; however, the renovations they are making are only benefiting themselves. The low-income, persons of color that have been living in this area are now being pushed out, and the shops and markets that are being built are too expensive for them to shop at – a phenomenon referred to as the suburbanization of poverty. What is the balance between renewing and revitalizing the history of Atlanta and making it something that is beneficial to everyone?

References

Green, Josh. (2018, September 19). ‘Urban reclamation’ meets Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward. Retrieved from https://atlanta.curbed.com/atlanta-development/2018/9/19/17861216/ponce-city-market-atlanta-old-fourth-ward

Green, Josh. (2015, March 27). The many lives of Ponce City Markey. The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved from https://www.ajc.com/

Ponce City Market. (2019). Retrieved from https://poncecitymarket.com/

Ponce City Market. (2019, March 12). Wikipedia. Retrieved April 18, 2019 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponce_City_Market

Weible, David. (2013, November 29). Ponce City Market: Atlanta’s History in the Making. National Trust for Historic Preservation. Retrieved from https://savingplaces.org/stories/ponce-city-market-atlantas-history-making#.XLixa5NKgWo

Grady Hospital was opened in 1892 in memory of Henry W. Grady, who served as the newspaper editor for the Atlanta Constitution in the 1880s. The hospital is located at 80 Jesse Hill Jr Dr SE, situated between Georgia State University and the Sweet Auburn district. It serves mainly patients from Dekalb and Fulton counties in the greater Atlanta area. However, Grady’s care also reaches 149 other counties in Georgia and areas of North Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.

Grady has undergone numerous changes since its inception. The hospital opened with 18 employees servicing 100 beds, divided evenly between blacks and whites. After World War I, divisions deepened through the formation of two distinct facilities, one for black and one for white, and these were termed “the Gradies.” The two facilities would be desegregated as a result of the Civil Rights Movement, but not before the first open heart surgery in Georgia was performed (1921) and the field-leading cardiac catheterization lab was brought to Grady (1940). Along the way, Grady has supported medical education, beginning with Atlanta Medical College, which became Emory University, as well as Morehouse College medical students and a nursing education program that endured until 1982. Now, Grady houses 953 beds with 17 operating rooms and over 5,000 employees, providing evidence of its growth and impact on Atlanta.

Grady began its mission of serving Atlanta with the intent of providing care to poor families in the region. This ideal has followed Grady through its 127-year existence, but it almost cost the hospital everything. Due to shortcomings in state and federal budgets and provision of care to uninsured patients, Grady almost closed its doors in 2007, but it was saved by a reformation of the board of directors and a pledge from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation of $200 million. Despite the adversity faced by the hospital, Grady continues its dedication to providing quality and holistic care to all comers, “with arms open wide to everyone in [their] community” (gradyhealth.org).

Grady’s open arms extend many types of care to patients, including cancer, urology, cardiology, neurology, chronic disease, family medicine, and senior care, though the hospital is most well-known for its emergency care. Grady houses a trauma-1 center, the Marcus Trauma Center, that is a leader not only in Atlanta, but all of Georgia and even nationwide. The Marcus Trauma Center provides incoming patients with immediate access to a highly-trained, multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, therapists, and technologists. The emergency department and trauma center have been so instrumental in providing care to Atlanta, and the Marcus Trauma Center was recently awarded the highest trauma center recognition in 2017 for its efforts. This recognition stems from the hospital’s ability to sustain adequate care for trauma patients, as well as promote educational training and research toward emergency care. (Video:Trauma Care at Grady)

Everyone who enters the Grady emergency department is assessed as quickly as possible. Upon arrival, each patient is classified by the severity of injury and need for immediate attention. Those with what are called lower acuity injuries, such as a minor asthma attack, back pain, or knee pain, are transferred to an area manned by physician assistants and nurse practitioners. In this area, it’s all about turnover rate. According to Dr. Brooks Moore, an associate director of the emergency department, the average bed in the lower acuity area is turned over in two hours or less, and this quick rate of treating and discharging patients helps to alleviate the stress of such a high patient volume. Even with that high turnover rate, there are still times when the hallways are lined with beds holding patients waiting their turn. There’s a need for emergency health care in Atlanta, and Grady is doing the best it can to fill that need.

In more serious cases, patients may be transferred to the Marcus Trauma Center, which houses fifteen beds and is staffed by physicians, residents, and nurses. In the trauma center, efficiency is paramount because the patient may be facing a life or death situation, and the team operates differently than it would a normal hospital as a result. Where a patient would undergo a series of tests in sequence, meaning extended or multiple hospital visits, a patient at Grady undergoes a barrage of tests all at once. The physicians need to know what is wrong now, not later, and the flurry of tests and treatments that takes place was described by Dr. Moore as providing “two months of care in two hours.” The providers at Grady are not only efficient, but provide quality care, as well. Denise Simpson, the media relations manager for Grady, remarked that she often cannot believe how some patients walk out of the hospital on the same day they enter it with such traumatic injuries.

Grady also emphasizes its holistic care, providing various services to improve the lives of its patients. One of Grady’s services is financial counseling, which helps patients plan for and manage costs associated with medical care. This service helps ensure that patients are financially stable to provide for themselves so that they are less likely to be re-admitted. Grady also has a unique way of assessing costs to their patients. The hospital analyzes a patient’s background, including his or her work status, number of family members, rent payments, and previous hospital visits, and it accounts for those factors when assessing costs to a patient. The ability to vary price based on patient characteristics is enabled by the restructuring of Grady leadership into a board of directors with business expertise. The implementation of economically-minded leadership has helped to maximize efficiency and improve Grady’s programs, which are provided in addition to the seldom-paralleled care offered by its emergency department.

Food prescription is another interesting service provided by Grady. Food prescriptions, which are coordinated with the Atlanta Food Bank and Wholesome Wave, center on providing free fruits and vegetables, as well as lessons on cooking with them, to patients with the goal of improving their quality of life and health. With programs like this, Grady hopes to extend its care beyond hospital doors and contribute to well-being in innovative and lasting ways.

Resources:

https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/science-medicine/grady-health-system

https://www.gradyhealth.org/learn-about-us/

https://www.gradyhealth.org/specialty/marcus-trauma-center/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/grady-receives-level-1-verification-from-the-american-college-of-surgeons-becoming-atlantas-only-level-1-trauma-center-to-achieve-this-coveted-status-300487363.html

The Sweet Auburn Historic District is home to many historic African-American sites, businesses, and homes. Just east of downtown, the neighborhood around Auburn Avenue was dubbed “Sweet” by John Wesley Dobbs, who was an African-American civic and political leader as well as the unofficial “mayor” of Auburn Avenue. However, the neighborhood was predominantly white before the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot.

Leading up to the riot, African-American men had just been given the right to vote in 1870 and were gaining more and more educational and occupational opportunities. As a result, a “black elite” were becoming more prominent in the political, business, and social realms in the city, to the dismay of the established white elite. However, impoverished and working class African-Americans were being blamed for growing crime rates by both the white and black elites, who were attempting to distance themselves from affiliation with these stereotypes. At the start of the 20^th century, Atlanta’s population was increasing exponentially, which caused strain on municipal services, increased job competition, and heightened tensions between classes. The city’s leadership of elite white men responded by expanding the Jim Crow laws and put extra restrictions on the working class.

The 1906 governor’s race also flared racial tensions as one of the candidates, former Atlanta Journal publisher Hoke Smith, ran his campaign on promises to keep African-Americans “in their place.” At the same time, the papers were provoking anger because they were carrying stories about alleged assaults on white women by black men which were sensationalized with lurid details and inflammatory language, as well as editorials and even cartoons demeaning African-Americans. Soon after, a mob of thousands of white men had gathered downtown and flooded the city, attacking African-Americans, vandalizing, smashing windows of, and raiding African-American owned businesses. An estimated 25-40 African-Americans were killed as compared to two whites, one of whom was a woman who suffered a heart attack when she saw the mob outside of her home. The results of the riot were a delicate interracial cooperation between white civic leaders and black elites, and increased class divisions among the city’s African-American populations. This contributed to a depression of both the African-American economy and community in Atlanta.

In the aftermath of the riot, the black elite began to inhabit the homes and businesses surrounding Auburn Avenue. This included Rev. Adam Daniel and Jenny Williams, the maternal grandparents of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who in 1909 purchased a home at 501 Auburn Avenue NE. When Martin Luther King, Sr. married Alberta Williams, they moved into the house and lived there until 1941. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in that very house on January 15, 1929. This house is also one block east of the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, on 407 Auburn Ave NE.

Although the church building on Auburn Ave was not yet built, Ebenezer was founded in 1886 by John A. Parker, who had been born into slavery. Rev. A.D. Williams became pastor of the Ebenezer church in 1894 with only 17 members, a congregation which grew substantially, outgrowing various buildings until construction finished on the church building on Auburn Ave in 1922, and continues to grow to this day. Rev. Williams’ son-in-law, Rev. Martin Luther King Senior began to serve as assistant pastor in 1927, and became pastor following Rev. Williams’ passing in 1931. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. became a co-pastor alongside his father in 1960, remaining in the position until his assassination in 1968, after which his funeral was held in the church.

The Rev. Dr. King , Jr. was laid to rest in a marble crypt east of the historic Ebenezer church, which in 1967 was surrounded by a memorial park, including a reflecting pool around the crypt on a raised pedestal, as well as a brick and concrete plaza with an arch-covered walkway and chapel.

Because of the ever-growing congregation, construction was completed on a new church building directly across the street from the historic Ebenezer church in 1999, a building which was dubbed the Horizon Sanctuary. In 2001, the National Park Service began restoring the historic church thanks to a Save America’s Treasures Grant as well as other contributions. Now, the historic Ebenezer church building is open to the public as a memorial to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his family, with recordings of his sermons being played in the nave of the church during open hours. The historic Ebenezer church, as well as the birth home and gravesite of Martin Luther King, Jr., are now part of a National Historic Site administered by the National Park Service, in addition to the National Park Service’s Visitor Center, which features exhibits about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights movement.

Just a couple blocks away from the Ebenezer church buildings on 25 Boulevard NE is the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic church, which is considered to be the Mother Church of African American Roman Catholics in Atlanta. The name Our Lady of Lourdes is in memory of the late Archbishop Patrick Ryan of Philadelphia. It was founded in 1911 by the Rev. Ignatius Lissner of the Society of African Missions, who was initially met with racist and anti-Catholic backlash. The Reverend found support from St. Katharine Drexel, a wealthy heiress from Pennsylvania who founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. She provided funds as a mission to African Americans and Native Americans in 1912, with which the church site was purchased and financed. The original site in Sweet Auburn is where the church still stands today.

The Sweet Auburn neighborhood as a whole was designated as a National Historical Landmark in 1976. However, it was plagued with crime, abandonment, lack of investment, and construction of a new highway right through the neighborhood. In 1992 it was recognized a one of America’s Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In response, the Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC) was formed to reverse the negative trends in the neighborhood. Their mission was to renew and improve the community without raising prices which would force lower-income residents out of the neighborhood. In 1994 they began by restoring houses surrounding the birth home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and have since rebuilt and restored over 110 homes and over 50 affordable rental units.

References

“Atlanta Race Riot of 1906.” New Georgia Encyclopedia, http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/atlanta-race-riot-1906.

Ebenezer Baptist Church Atlanta. “Our History.” Ebenezer Baptist Church, ebenezeratl.org/history/.

“History.” Our Lady of Lourdes Atlanta, lourdesatlanta.org/history/.

“How to Spend a Day in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn Historic District.” Official Georgia Tourism & Travel Website | Explore Georgia.org, http://www.exploregeorgia.org/things-to-do/article/how-to-spend-a-day-in-atlantas-sweet-auburn-historic-district.

“Main Church Location and Directions.” Our Lady of Lourdes Atlanta, lourdesatlanta.org/locations/main-church/.

“Martin Luther King, Jr. Birth Home.” Official Georgia Tourism & Travel Website | Explore Georgia.org, http://www.exploregeorgia.org/atlanta/history-heritage/african-american/martin-luther-king-jr-birth-home.

“Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site–Atlanta: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/atlanta/kin.htm. “Sweet Auburn Historic District–Atlanta: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/atlanta/aub.htm.

In 1996, Atlanta hosted the Olympics for the 100th Anniversary of the first modern Olympic games in Athens.   In order to prepare for the Olympics, a stadium was built in downtown Atlanta.  After the Olympics ended this stadium was taken down, and in its place the city built the Centennial Olympic Park for public use.  The park features fountains and reflecting pools, as well as a 20-story Ferris wheel called the Skyview Atlanta.  Surrounding the park are several museums and attractions which reflect the global city Atlanta is trying to become.

Atlanta’s Civil and Human Rights Museum highlights the city’s history as the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. and as the “City Too Busy to Hate”.  The museum walks visitors through the history of the Civil Rights Movement, showing the impact it had on the southern United States and featuring the work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  It also includes a section about discrepancies in human rights which are still an issue today, such as human trafficking and poverty. 

Atlanta is also the home of CNN, or the Cable News Network, which broadcasts news from around the world to people all over the world.  At CNN headquarters in Atlanta, one can tour studios where the news is filmed or just sit in the foyer with a view of the offices on the upper floors.  CNN’s presence, like the 1996 Olympic games, highlights the global aspect of the city of Atlanta.  It shows that Atlanta as a city interacts with the rest of the world rather than keeping to itself.

The World of Coca-Cola museum is also located near Centennial Olympic Park.  This museum features some of the business impacts that Atlanta has made on the world; namely, the invention of soft drinks and Coca Cola in 1886 Atlanta.  At World of Coca-Cola, one can learn about the history of Coca Cola as well as the impact it has on the world today.  Visitors can also see the vault where the recipe for Coca Cola is hidden and try over 100 flavors of Coca-Cola. 

The Georgia Aquarium and Mercedes-Benz football stadium are both within walking distance of Centennial Olympic Park as well.  While these attractions have less global significance than Coca Cola or CNN, they are examples of the entertainment aspect of Atlanta.  The Georgia Aquarium is home to four whale sharks, and the Mercedes-Benz stadium hosted the Superbowl in 2019.

Because all these attractions center around Central Olympic Park, the area has become a hub for tourism.  While their proximity is convenient for tourists, this sprawl has a negative impact on residents.  Those driving to work face long hours in traffic, and public transportation to the downtown area is not always.  Gentrification is also prevalent in the area.  In order to build the Centennial Olympic Stadium, multiple blocks of residential areas were torn down with the promise of relocation- a promise which has not yet been completely fulfilled.  This means that families that used to have homes in downtown Atlanta had to move farther away from their jobs.  Atlanta tries to make itself a “global city” by highlighting it’s history, it’s global thinking, it’s business and it’s entertainment options in a way that will appeal to outsiders.  However, this structure provides a very enclosed experience to those who do not venture outside of the tourist sphere, and it does not show tourists how residents of the area really live.  Is there a way to improve conditions for residents without making conditions worse for tourists?  Does Atlanta improve its standing as a “global city” by having good conditions for tourists and poor conditions for residents?

References

“Centennial Olympic Park.” Centennial Olympic Park. Georgia World Congress Center Authority, 2019. Web. 23 Apr. 2019.

Villa bears witness to God’s love for the world as it:

Creates a safe community of mutual respect and hospitality

Encourages friendship and global understanding

Promotes the health and wellness of the world

Villa international is a 33-bedroom residence for international guests located in Atlanta, Georgia. Villa was founded in 1967 as a “home away from home” and since its opening, has housed over 25,000 guests form over 170 different countries. Villa International’s proximity to Emory university, specifically the Rollins School of Public Health, as well as the CDC makes it an ideal residence for international students, researchers, doctors, and other public health officials.

Villa international was founded with the aid of seven Christian denominations including The Disciples of Christ, Episcopal Church (U.S.), United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Roman Catholic Church, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and The Evangelical Lutheran Church (U.S.). These groups sought to create a living space in which people from all over the world can find safe, affordable, housing in an otherwise daunting city in America. The founders of the Villa hoped to create a space in which all people can be accepted and respected while simultaneously experiencing the comfort of home. An introduction video to Villa International can be found here.

Villa International prides itself on providing the unique experience of a hotel combined with the community and fellowship of a guest house. Villa strives to promote a shared experience with its residents through open dining places, a common industrial kitchen, and a game room consisting of a pool table, a ping pong table, as well as other games and lounging

Villa international also offers informal and formal opportunities for fellowship through numerous planned activities such as community dinners, visits to local historic sites and attractions, and visits to different locations near Atlanta. Once a year, Villa sponsors a Festival of Nations, in which community members can gather, experience foods from different cultures, international dances, and different world crafts. This festival lasts one afternoon and draws in hundreds of people. The proceeds of this festival go to students who are surviving on a minimum stipend in order to continue their education.

Apart from providing affordable and comfortable housing for international and local guests, and offering a place of kinship and community spirit, Villa international promoted a bioethically considerate model in the Atlanta community. In 2018, Villa international implemented several energy conservation methods in order to cut the Villa’s carbon footprint. All of the shower faucets were replaced with low-flow fixtures, all lightbulbs were switched from incandescent to LED lights in over 300 fixtures, and multiple high-grade solar panels were installed on Villa International’s roof, accounting for nearly 30% of their energy efficiency. With these strides toward a more sustainable business model, Villa International exemplifies how even a service-based business can support a community conscious of world health.

Through the lens of an ethical city, Villa international checks many of the boxes in the formulae for urban happiness established by author Charles Montgomery in his book The Happy City. From Montgomery’s list, the most notable aspects of a happy city are striving towards maximum happiness with minimal hardship, allows the residents of the city to build and strengthen the bonds between people which give life meaning, and to acknowledge our interconnectivity.  First, Villa international and its residents all agree to an informal contract to maximize their happiness for minimal hardship through a community-based living space. Residents cook, eat, clean, and maintain their own building and living space with the expectation that other residents will perform in the same manner. In regard to building and strengthening bonds, as aforementioned, Villa international prides itself on creating relationships between different people from different cultures in as many ways possible. Periodic community dinners are held, all the facilities besides private bedrooms can be used by all, and entertainment options are available to bring people together in their free time. Correspondingly, these bonds which form from a codependence of residents to hold up their end of maintaining the Villa as well as the bonds formed by working and playing with each other, Villa provides an atmosphere where the interconnectivity of all people, regardless of their background, becomes apart and important. This acknowledgement rightfully breaks down previous barriers established by culture, race, and religion, and, in the words of Charles Montgomery, “opens doors to empathy and cooperation” (Montgomery 43).

Undoubtedly, the model established by Villa International represents a company which supports diversity, understands the meaning of a community, and supports actions moving towards the model of an ethical city. Villa International is a place in which different members of different communities, ethnicities, nationalities, religions, and political backgrounds can come together and build friendships and partnerships under common experience. In doing so, Villa plants a seed of acceptance and understanding which can grow in the minds of their guests, and hopefully, go with their guests to their homes and workplaces, promoting understanding of difference and diversity throughout the world.

For a more in depth look at Villa International, click here.

References

Good News from Villa International- Spring 2019

“Villa International, A Home Away From Home for CDC International Visitors.” CDC Foundation

“Villa International.” About Us | Villa International

The Atlanta BeltLine Project was started in 1999 by Ryan Gravel as part of his Masters Thesis at Georgia Tech. Evolving from this idea, the BeltLine Project grew as a grassroots campaign to redevelop abandoned railroad tracks and transform the city through building a 22-mile loop of modern streetcar, 33 miles of multiuse trails, and 2000 acres of parks. The first trail openings began in 2008 and as of 2019, the BeltLine has five open trails and seven parks. The project’s estimated completion date is 2030 which is being funded by federal, state, local, and private contributions.

Atlanta is considered to be a “sprawl city” which means it is geographically larger and more spread out than some other cities in the U.S. Due to the lack of geographic boundaries confining the city, developers chose to expand outward as people came in and the city grew. This means that many individuals rely on cars for transportation, and although Atlanta has a metro transit system it can be difficult to use and due to traffic, it is not always the fastest way to get around. The lack of alternative transit takes a toll on the environment as well as the overall happiness of individuals living in cities. Charles Montgomery’s The Happy City outlines how urban design and infrastructure can transform our cities and our lives through more efficient ways of travel, communal spaces, and beautiful areas for all. The BeltLine Project can be seen as a sort of “happy city” initiative by taking an unused space and creating something to be enjoyed by everyone.

In aiming to solve this problem, the project works to provide a sustainable, alternative means of transit which may mean biking, walking, scootering, or by light rail. The project is considered Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) which “guides the growth of vibrant, livable, mixed-use communities.” Through various developments, the BeltLine is working to build community in a city that is sometimes too big to develop community otherwise. The organization’s website refers to the BeltLine as a “living, breathing part of our community; not simply a means of getting somewhere, but a destination unto itself.”

Working with their end goal in mind, the Atlanta BeltLine supports affordable housing, economic and job development, public arts, and environmental clean-up, among other efforts to improve the city. In 2008, the City Council approved a $8.8 million bond for the Atlanta BeltLine Affordable Housing Trust Fund. However, the BeltLine is not without its issues. Although many of those initiatives fell within their goal, it is sometimes difficult to prevent the response from others in the community.

The BeltLine aimed to be an asset for all, but sometimes those with money get more say in the matter. In some neighborhoods near the BeltLine, realtors have started to build expensive housing or raise housing costs because of the new appeal from the BeltLine. In some areas, housing prices have risen by 80%. This has pushed individuals who cannot afford this housing farther out of the city, creating a new issue for Atlanta.

These issues are not unique to Atlanta and are common in cities everywhere. There are benefits to improving and restoring a city, but this often comes with drawbacks as well, which are still being addressed.

With the BeltLine still under construction, creating a space that will remain accessible to everyone must also be considered. In 2016, two new affordable housing developments were completed which include Reynoldstown Senior and Stanton Oaks. The project also states that around $20 million of tax revenue will go to support more affordable housing. Hopefully, as the project continues more consideration will go to ensure the BeltLine can improve the city of Atlanta for all.

References

Atlanta BeltLine Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://beltline.org/about/the-atlanta-beltline-project/atlanta-beltline-overview/

Burnette, M. (2011). Atlanta: Urban Sprawl. Retrieved from https://www.greatamericancountry.com/places/local-life/atlanta-urban-sprawl

Lartey, J. (2018) Nowhere for people to go: who will survive the gentrification of Atlanta? Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/oct/23/nowhere-for-people-to-go-who-will-survive-the-gentrification-of-atlanta

Montogomery, C. (2013). The Happy City. London: Penguin House

So, compelling narrative and photos not enough for you? More of a numbers person? Well, we’ve got the data:

Length of Trip – 9 Days, 8 Nights

Number of Students Who Departed from Milwaukee Airport – 19

Number of Students Who Returned to Milwaukee Airport – 19 (phew)

Miles Walked Total = 45 – 50; average 5+ miles / day

Hours Logged on Public Buses and Trains = 13ish

Blog Posts – 30 and counting

Number of Unique Visitors to the Blog – 450 and counting (spread the word)

Word Count for Student Blogs (total) – 14,131

# of Times Matthew Correctly Used Current Slang – 1.5

# of Books Margy Purchased at Local Bookstores – 11?

Most Predictable “Low-Energy” Time of Day – 3:47pm (or any bus ride back to the Villa)

The morning of our final full day in the beautiful state of peaches was spent in Decatur, GA, a city on the northeast side of Atlanta. While in Decatur we had the opportunity to meet with the city mayor, Patti Garrett, as well as several other city and non-profit leaders in the community.

One of Garrett’s main goals going into the position of mayor was to increase the arts and appreciation of arts in the city. In order to achieve this, they started a budget that allowed them to purchase art and place them in community buildings across the city.

The murals that can be found across the entire city are more than just a piece of art. They use them to tell a story of where the city has come from.

One major issue that they have historically faced was the lack of racial diversity. This was due to the building of the MARTA train right into the center of their city. While this helps increase the traffic and people in the direct downtown square it displaced numerous amounts of people. Of those affected by the building of the train included a large African American population. It split the African Americans to the south side of the city and the whites to the north. African Americans were further affected with the growth of roads that cut through their neighborhood as well. In order to honor those who lived in the area, Decatur Days was started by members of families who lost their neighborhoods. In recent years they were able to put a mural up on the side of the MARTA train. This allows the train to bring some light and art to the city.

As the city continued to grow, more and more buildings started to get abandoned and the city started lacking a place of home and community. Decatur turned into a city of commuters. Over the last 31 years, they’ve worked to create a community and a downtown square where residents can go at nights with family and friends. This was done by reconfiguring buildings and creating the town square where live music and other community events can be held. One large event that is held every year is the Decatur Book Festival. The Book Festival occurs every Labor Day weekend and attracts 60,000-80,000 people per year. The city of Decatur became a perfect place for this festival to happen because it brings the love of creativity and passion for literature and the arts. On top of the passion for literature they make it a large community gathering by offering fun games for kids and funnel cakes for all.

Still to this day despite the efforts that have been made to increase arts and the community, Decatur struggles with diversity. Though this struggle is now defined more by the lack of economic diversity and shifting racial demographics. Garrett and others hope to continue the growth of arts as well as the economic diversity in Decatur.

Blogger: Sabine Westermeyer

After several full days, we took a more leisurely approach to our itinerary today. Confident (?) in their urban navigational skills (or at least savvy with GPS on their phones), small groups spread out across the city to take in a few more sights on what turned out to be a beautiful spring day in Atlanta.

As the student blogs for the day attest, however, even on a free day, the course themes seemed to break into their thoughts and shape their reflections. Before the trip, students viewed a TEdTalk by Taiye Selasi that asked us to think about what a sense of place means in a globalizing and highly mobile world. Today Selasi’s provocative reframing of place seems appropriate: “Don’t ask me where I’m from, ask where I’m local.”

Key Questions for Our Class Themes Today:

How do places and their histories shape us and the way we imagine our relationships to others?

How do we create in our own unique and often unexpected ways a sense of place wherever we are, including our temporary home for the week at Villa International?

In the beginning of every long trip away from home, the first step is finding suitable lodging to rest after long days of learning, exploring, and adventuring. Certainly, the journey to Atlanta by Viterbo University students remains firmly in this belief, and, rightly so, the first stop on our travels in Atlanta was the Emory Conference Center. This conference center exhibited some excellent artistry, fine wood work, and accommodations fit for any man, woman, or child entering its chambers. However, the Conference Hotel was simply that: A conference hotel. While the employees did breathe some life into the area with their cheerful demeanor and swift accomplishment of our requests, they could not truly deliver an “at home” experience which many of us crave.

However, our fearless leader, Matthew Bersagel Braley, did not let us suffer in the superficial luxury of the Emory Conference Center for long. Only two days after arriving in Atlanta and two nights spent in the conference center, we moved to the Villa International a few blocks away from the conference center. This villa did not contain the lavish accommodations that the Conference Center did, but something much more valuable took its place.            

We started off in the Villa getting our keys, finding our rooms, and settling down to the modest but more than adequate accommodations. Next, we were given packets explaining the “house rules” in a sense including but not limited to no eating in anywhere but the kitchen, no food in the rooms, no drink besides water in the rooms, and cooking spaces are available, but dishes must be done by the one who has dirtied them. While this list of rules may not differ from that of a normal household that many of us have lived through the majority of our lives, the distinction of the free range of the hotel and the moderately rule heavy transfer to the Villa was a shock to the system at the least. Nonetheless, we adapted quickly and fell into place in our new housing, hopeful and happy to see what adventures the rest of Atlanta would bring. I personally never expected that one of the greatest lessons of the trip would be taught at the Villa instead of the numerous sites which we would visit throughout the week.

The Villa offers a unique experience to any and all who have the privilege of staying under its roof. First and foremost, the Villa caters to a wide variety of people from all over the world; each and every one of them moving in a different direction at the CDC, Emory University, a plethora of other institutions. These people have a wide variety of life stories, and a wide variety of experiences to share. And share they did. Many students, myself included, engaged in conversations with many of the residents of the Villa, absorbing their life stories, their experiences, the way the view the world, and the future they wish to bring to America and their home countries. However, they rallied off of us as much as we rallied off of them.

One conversation I had with a resident from Pakistan exemplifies this phenomenon. He said that, normally, the villa remains quiet during most hours of the day, the guest speak with each other but not as much as they could and/or should, and little energy flows throughout the structure. However, the day we entered, he said he felt new life in the space. More people spoke to each other, we played games in the lounge, Andrew Wagner received some much-needed lessons in pool, and, overall, we shared in the camaraderie of open space.

Although this was a bit out of the ordinary for us as students, the incredible spirit and ambition we acquired when making these meals was something to be seen. Everyone seemed to work in perfect harmony with the goal in mind of impressing the other half of the group. We cooked together, we ate together, we washed dishes together, and most importantly, we were present in the moment together.

This trip to Atlanta has taught us a great deal about civil rights, public health, famous historical figures, the structure of a major city, and numerous other things, but one of the most significant themes of this trip—in my own opinion—is the acquirement of the ability to truly be were one is. The Villa acted as a vehicle to show me the power of this idea, and the benefits it brings to all parties involved. In the words of one of the workers of the Villa “To know about the Villa, one must experience the Villa”.

In order for one to truly enjoy the journey we all are a part of, we must be willing to experience life as it is, not while focusing on hundreds of things at a time, but truly being present in the moment, and truly engaging with the world around us. If nothing else, the journey to Atlanta has taught me the value of being in the moment.

Blogger: Zach Schmit

Today was a free day. Many people spent the morning sleeping in to catch up on the many hours of sleep we have lost during this trip. Others chose to take advantage of the free time in order to keep up on trip journals or to work on some of the never-ending homework of the semester. Still others chose to hang out and play pool or checkers. The events of the day were varied also. One group went to the Atlanta Botanical Garden, a couple people went to a mall for shopping and a third group went to Ponce City Market. I was in the group that went to the market so that is what I will be talking about.

Ponce City Market was opened in 2014 after fully renovating the Sears, Roebuck & Company building located in the Old Fourth Ward. The building was originally built in 1926 as a Sears, Roebuck & Co. retail store, warehouse, and regional office, and now it is a bustling market. The first floor is filled with a variety of food options. From dine-in restaurants to grab-and-go stands, there was a gourmet Italian market, Indian street food, a European café and farmstand, a sushi bar and many more. Even with the wide range of options, most of us went for the soul food from Hops Chicken which had “Honest, Clean” deep fried chicken. The second floor of the market, as well as a large outdoor area on the back of the building, contained many shops and boutiques to browse while taking in the city life all around us. The other eight floors contain offices, flats, and educational facilities. It was interesting to see a large community gathering place established from an old building in downtown Atlanta. The renovation of the Sears, Roebuck & Co. building is called gentrification. Gentrification is the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste. Due to gentrification all around the neighborhood, the predominately black area of the Old Fourth Ward has seen an influx of whites. The question is, is this a good thing? Yes, whites are moving back into the city centers that they had left during the urban sprawl; however, the renovations they are making are often only benefiting themselves. The low-income, persons of color that have been living in this area of the city are now being pushed out, and the shops and markets that are being built are too expensive for them to shop at – a phenomenon referred to as the suburbanization of poverty. What is the balance between renewing and revitalizing areas in Atlanta that have been historically neglected and making it something that is beneficial to everyone?

A challenging experience we had throughout the day today was navigating the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). The MARTA has been our primary mode of transportation throughout this entire trip; however, Matthew usually figures out where to be and when. Today that feat was up to the seven of us who decided to go to Ponce City Market. We went out to the bus stop right outside the Villa expecting bus 816 would be there in two minutes. Fifteen minutes later, bus 6 showed up so we hopped on seeing a bus 6 was showing up as an alternate route to the same location. Well, when the bus started taking us further from our final destination we realized we had gotten on the northbound bus instead of the southbound bus so we got off a stop later. The bus driver informed us to go across the intersection to a different bus stop and wait for the 816. We sat there for a good 15 minutes waiting for the bus which eventually flies past with “not in service” written across the front where the route is usually shown. Another 10 minutes later the 816 finally arrives. When on the bus we asked the bus driver where to get off for Ponce City Market, and he informed us his bus route doesn’t go there so we need to get off and catch the 102 or walk a mile to the market. At that point, we chose to walk. Good thing it was a beautiful day today.

Trying to navigate public transportation having never been to Atlanta before was a difficult task. Most of us had downloaded the MARTA app on our phones and could see which buses to take and what routes they ran to get to where we were going, but it wasn’t always accurate on bus times and we don’t know the city well enough to master traveling on them. It made me understand the challenges people face when public transportation is their primary mode of transportation.

While navigating the MARTA system I have become aware of the fact that the majority of the drivers of the buses are African Americans, as well as the majority of the people who utilize the train and bus system during the middle of the day. This is likely due, in part, to the Atlanta city sprawl. During the urban sprawl, many of the white families in the city moved to the suburbs leaving the poor minority populations in the city. Those in the suburbs, along with having the ability to move out of the city also owned their own vehicles, where as those in the city did not have the financial ability to own any. This is why minority populations, historically, have often been the persons utilizing public transportation. You could also see the stigma around public transportation. People we met at the Villa or other places we visited who asked how we got around did not have the most positive response when our answer was the MARTA. It again shows disparity between people and a segregation of wealth.

This evening we had a visit from Rev. Dr. Theophus “Thee” Smith, but Matthew introduced him to us as Thee so that is what I will call him from here on out. Thee is recently retired from his position as a religion professor at Emory University for 31 years. He is an Atlanta native whose parents went to Spelman College, mentioned in another blog post as a historically black women’s college, and Morehouse college, a historically black men’s college. Matthew invited him to come and speak with us about the Southern Truth and Reconciliation organization (STAR). Thee was a co-founder of the organization, and Matthew worked for the organization during graduate school for 7 years. STAR was inspired by Bishop Desmond Tutu who was a visiting professor at Emory University from 1998-2000. Tutu challenged the U.S. to do their homework in order to have a successful truth commission in the United States. That background research is what prompted the organization of STAR.

After an initial presentation from Thee, we gathered in a circle to have a question/discussion period. One question asked was about implicit bias and how we go about combating it. His response was that it takes practice. He talked about a workshop activity he facilitates in which people say the first thing that comes to mind when presented with a person or group that is traditionally discriminated against, e.g., Americans, the disabled population, the LGBTQ population, etc. By exposing each person’s implicit bias in a healthy way, the group can talk through the bias as a community in order to combat it. These workshops require a huge amount of vulnerability and trust between each individual.

Thee also talked about how diversity is in every community. Yes, even in the Midwest we have diversity. Traditionally people think of differences in race, ethnicity and religion as the sole categories that create diversity, however diversity is much more than that. There is diversity in the categories people either put themselves into or are put into by others. Categories such as addiction survivors, body type, age, sexual assault survivors, and income level. All of these categories deal with biases and being aware of them is the best way to combat those biases in order to appreciate the diversity around us. Thank you, Thee!

Blogger: Calista Holman

Today we stayed closed to “home.” The Clifton Road Corridor where the Villa is located includes the Centers for Disease Control and Emory University. As our student blogs for the day, we covered a wide range of topics today from pandemic disease responses to Pan-African dis-ease with racial violence. As we continue to examine the role of cities in promoting and prohibiting human flourishing, we were reminded again of how our short-term historical memories can leave us under-prepared to live into a better world.

Key Questions for Our Class Themes Today:

How are the tools of public health being deployed to understand threats to human well-being including violence and human trafficking?

How do communities organize themselves in order to effect practical, positive change?

What role do artists play in these social change efforts?

We also experimented with student-led meal preparation, which led to our last key question for the day:

How many packages of pasta does it take to feed 21 V-Hawks and several international guests?

Don’t worry, the CDC has not contacted us about any food-borne illnesses as a result of our experiment!

After getting all checked in and getting our official visitor badges, we got to meet with John Besser, who has a Ph.D. in microbiology, biology, and was also actively involved in creating PulseNet. (Super cool dude. Everyone should look him up). When talking with him, we learned that the CDC deals with about 20-50 outbreaks every week and that some of the diseases we thought were extinct still exist and they have seen some cases recently. For example, John had talked about a case of polio that had been discovered recently in an immunocompromised patient. I think it is very interesting that diseases that the public thinks are totally gone do still exist and continue to change rapidly without us knowing. He also informed us about a big change that will be happening around the world on Friday: the CDC will change everything to genome sequencing.

After the CDC, we walked a couple of blocks to Emory University for lunch, a tour of the Carlos Museum, and a discussion with one of Matthew’s friends from graduate school, Dr. Letitia Campbell, about her work on human trafficking.

The Carlos has one of the largest collections from the 19 and 20th centuries of African art. The exhibit being featured at the moment is “Do or Die” by the African American artist Dr. Fahamu Pecou. One of the pieces that really intrigued me was a video that had water laying on top of it. (INSERT PICTURE OF VIDEO) The purpose of the water on top of the video was to represent the water in the beginning of life and then the tears that are shed later in life when one passes away and to welcome them to earth and heaven.

In our discussion with Letitia, she talked about a human trafficking advocate organizations called Solutions NOT Punishment for people just trying to survive. They are trying to close the city of Atlanta jail and turn it into a center for mental health, etc. They have gotten the police to start issuing tickets and use their discretion on locking people up instead of arresting everyone. They have also started the Atlanta/Fulton county pre-arrest diversion initiative which helps those at risk for being arrested before they get an arrest for non-violent crimes on their record and providing alternatives. This is like the programs we have for those who get arrested and have alternatives instead of going to jail, except this is before they get arrested.

UPDATE: The morning after we talked to Letitia, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms signaled her support for the re-purposing of the city jail while giving her State of the City address:

“In the spirit of One Atlanta, we look forward to converting our City jail from a building designed for mass incarceration to one that will provide access to opportunity for those who need it.”

The last part of our day, and my personal favorite, was making a pasta dinner from scratch for everyone. We first went to Kroger to get our supplies (and some cookie dough). Then we came back and cranked out homemade marinara and Alfredo sauce in a solid 30 minutes. We all had so much fun dancing and singing and were able to learn so much more about each other. I cannot wait for tomorrow!

Blogger: Destiny Kronebusch

Hi guys! I hope you’re enjoying the updates from Atlanta! Today we visited the CDC and Emory University. At Emory University, we entered the Michael C. Carlos Museum. The featured exhibit was called “Do or Die: Affect, Ritual, Resistance” created by Dr. Fahamu Pecou. He attended Emory University and this exhibit was composed of his artwork used for his dissertation. Our tour guide explained the meaning of the title of the exhibit as “creating an alternative healing method to those used by the media”. 

The first room we entered was made up of different images painted on canvases. My favorite piece was composed of 3 women. One of which was pregnant. I loved the colors used and the stance of importance of a women’s body the image portrayed. With our tour guide we entered a discussion about how we all interpreted a different piece of his artwork in that same room.

The first room we entered was made up of different images painted on canvases. My favorite piece was composed of 3 women. One of which was pregnant. I loved the colors used and the stance of importance of a women’s body the image portrayed.

It turns out that this portrait was about an African American male who lost his life to racially biased violence. He was pleading with the pregnant woman to let him return back to earth. The woman is in a dimension between earth and heaven. He is clothed in white shoes, white pants, and a white mask which stood out to me as representing purity. Showing that he was an innocent black man. In some portraits the male was with the women, which portrayed him as divine but in other portraits he was by himself which represented his internal struggles. 

As we moved through the exhibit, we came upon pieces of clothing called “egunguns”. These pieces of clothing are like “cloaks” which are worn by male figures in the Yoruba culture in Nigeria. It is worn during festivals, funerals, and even into battle. It is seen as a way to connect with ancestors and be guided through life. Those who wear these egunguns are perceived to be attached as a brotherhood which advocates for social justice and social order in their communities.

We ended our tour of the exhibit by watching a short film created by Dr. Fahamu Pecou called “Emmett Still”. I found the title of the video to be very interesting as the video goes through police brutality, fears of an African American man, and African culture. These all tie back with the story of Emmett Till. In the film, the main character (an African American man) finds the strength and resilience to keep going and rise above his struggles through the use of rituals of the egungun. Some of the scenes directly replicated the portraits painted by the artist seen in the first room. I appreciated that the whole exhibit came together and connected perfectly like a puzzle. In order to understand one piece of art you had to see the artwork before it. 

Blogger: Taty Valeriano

Today we went to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) which was just a short walk from where we are staying. I didn’t have much prior knowledge of the CDC before heading there today but I did know that it was a pretty big deal, and I was excited to be going there. If you don’t know much about the CDC or the work they do there I would consider learning more about it. It was founded in 1946 and is the leading national public health institution. One large focus of our class was public health and human flourishing, but not necessarily in the sense that most people would think.

Something that I have been contemplating for a while now is the idea of proactivity versus reactivity. I attended a keynote speaker event at Viterbo my freshman year that focused on this concept in the healthcare system. I cannot remember everything, but I know the talk addressed issues in our healthcare system and specifically the idea that we need to put more of our energy into preventative care, not emergency care. We should attack the problem at the source instead of responding once it has occurred. In this course, “the ethical city” we have focused on what assets of a city work to promote human flourishing which is essentially attacking the problem at the source. You may be wondering what this has to do with the CDC but I promise I am getting there…

Our plan for the CDC was to walk through the museum they have there which outlines the history of disease in the United States including tremendous outbreaks, the discovery of vaccines, how they track food-borne illnesses, and more. Before that portion of the museum, they had a temporary exhibit titled “By the People: Designing a Better America”. I started looking around the exhibit, and to be honest, I don’t have as much energy as I did in the beginning of the trip, so my first thought was… what does this have to do with disease control? But after I started putting two and two together (with a little help from Matthew) I realized this exhibit was exactly the sort of thing we had been discussing in class. Sometimes aspects of life connect together a little too perfectly, but I’m not going to complain about it.

The exhibit focused on six areas: Share, Learn, Make, Act, Live, Save and showed stories and examples of individuals in cities across the nation that are working to promote human flourishing. The exhibit addressed that the United States has 46.7 million individuals living below the federal poverty line. Americans face issues like income inequality, stagnating wages, rising housing costs, and limited public transportation that threaten human health and prevent individuals from achieving “the good life”. This exhibit really struck me and I think that one of my favorite quotes could sum it up nicely here:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
― Margaret Mead

I believe that best service any person can do for the world is to pursue their own passions. When individuals put their efforts into the things they really care about, that is where change comes. I tried to document some projects in the exhibit that inspired me, hoping that it could inspire those of you reading this blog as well.

Learn – Probation Resource Hubs

SAVE – Atlanta Beltline

To quote the classic Disney movie Robots, “See a need, fill a need.” Ha ha. But really, it’s a quote that I couldn’t get out of my head all day. The point is not what these individuals did, but the fact that they each took what they were passionate about and used that to promote human flourishing for others, and that is what I took away from today. There is so much change to be done, and by no means do these projects completely erase the issues of poverty, inequality, racism, etc. but they are an inspiring start.

Blogger: Marne Boehm

A photo is worth a thousand words… enjoy our 10,000 word blog post – a look back on our activities from the past several days.

Tuesday took us back to the heart (and heart care) of the city to visit two anchor institutions in Atlanta. We are grateful for Dr. Brooks Moore, Denise Simpson, and Rev. Dr. Rosetta Ross for their generous gifts of time and wisdom today.

Two students offer their perspective in on the day in a blog and vlog below.

Key questions for our class themes today:

How does a major, trauma-1 hospital fit into the larger health system web of the metro Atlanta region?

What role does the hospital play in addressing the social and societal determinants of health?

How did the religious traditions of Black women leaders in the Civil Rights Movement inspire and sustain their commitments both to personal piety and engagement in social justice on behalf of their communities?

What religious and spiritual resources inspire and sustain the commitments of community activists working on behalf of racial, gender, and economic justice today?

Tuesday afternoon the group headed over to Spelman College to talk with Dr. Ross, Professor Matthew’s former teacher. We went into a classroom in Cosby Hall (named after Camille Cosby) and listened to Dr. Ross talk about virtues and women’s activism throughout the Civil Rights Movement and in modern society – see her book Witnessing and Testifying.

After her Powerpoint, we had discussion time with Dr. Ross and were able to cover questions from different viewpoints. A few had asked about the Civil Right Movement and how it had affected Dr. Ross’s life and education growing up. She grew up in the years following the movement and had explained how it was difficult to receive an education as being a young woman and a person of color, but it never stopped her from doing what she wanted. Others in the group had asked her questions about similarities within the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Lives Matter group that she had noticed. These were very interesting questions to think about, which helped us realize that there are similarities within these two groups and what they are protesting for. Dr. Ross had explained to us that “history repeats itself, and this issue is a  prime example of this matter to this day.”

Spelman College resides next to Morehouse College, an all black men’s college, and Clark Atlanta University, a coeducational black college. Notable alumni from Spelman College are: Audrey F. Manley, the former surgeon general of the United States, Maj. Gen. Marcelite J. Harris, the first African-American female general of the U.S. Air Force, and Alice Walker, author of “The Color Purple.”

Blogger: Morgan Dulmes

For this blog post, Ellie experiments with vlogging – enjoy!

https://youtu.be/gP8ecfd1a1M

Vlogger: Ellie Fehrenbach

Tuesday began like most days had begun on this trip. Some people met in the dining room for breakfast, bearing tired eyes but eagerly awaiting the activities for the day. Marne lost a banana under mysterious circumstances, and it has yet to be determined if said fruit will be reimbursed. Hopefully, the scoundrel that caused the case of the lost banana presents him- or herself.

The first destination for the day, and the experience upon which this post will focus, was Grady hospital. Grady is a large hospital that contains a trauma-1 emergency department, and the hospital is situated between Georgia State University and the Sweet Auburn district. The first thing I noticed upon arriving to Grady was the size of the building; the hospital is built like a skyscraper. The entrance holds large windows overlaid in stone, suggesting quality and attention to detail that would be confirmed once inside. In the lobby, we met Denise Simpson, the media relations manager for Grady, and Dr. Brooks L. Moore, a longtime friend of Matthew, a former Jeopardy champion, and an associate director of the emergency department.

Brooks and Denise began with a few introductions to Grady, highlighting the importance of the hospital to Atlanta in its provision of quality primary care, specialty treatment, and emergency attention for those who need it most. Then, they took us around the hospital on a brief tour. One of the key takeaways from the tour was that Grady emphasizes its holistic care, providing various services to improve the lives of their patients. One of Grady’s services is financial counseling, which helps patients plan for and manage costs associated with medical care. This service helps ensure that patients are financially stable to provide for themselves so that they are less likely to be re-admitted.

Food prescription is another interesting service provided by Grady. Food prescriptions, which are coordinated with the Atlanta Food Bank and Wholesome Wave, center on providing free fruits and vegetables, as well as lessons on cooking with them, to patients to improve their quality of life and health.

Grady also has a unique way of assessing costs to their patients. They analyze a patient’s background, including their work status, number of family members, rent payments, and previous hospital visits, and they base their price package on the patient’s ability to pay, heavily based on the previous factors. Their ability to vary price based on patient characteristics is enabled by the restructuring of their leadership into a board of directors with business expertise. The implementation of an economically-minded board of leaders has helped to maximize efficiency and improve Grady’s programs, which are provided in addition to the seldom-paralleled care offered by their emergency department.

Everyone who enters the Grady emergency department is assessed as quickly as possible. Upon arrival, each patient is classified by the severity of injury and need for immediate attention. Those with what are called lower acuity injuries, such as a minor asthma attack, back pain, or knee pain, are transferred to an area manned by physician assistants and nurse practitioners. In this area, its all about turnover rate. According to Dr. Moore, the average bed in the lower acuity area is turned over in two hours or less, and this quick rate of treating and discharging patients helps to alleviate the stress of such a high patient volume. Even with that high turnover rate, we still saw numerous patients laying in beds that lined the hallways. There’s a need for emergency health care here in Atlanta, and Grady is doing the best they can to fill that need.

In more serious cases, patients are transferred to a different emergency ward or the Marcus Trauma Center, which houses fifteen beds and is staffed by physicians, residents, and nurses. A cool thing about this grouping is that Grady trains many residents from the medical schools at Emory University and Morehouse College, and it may end up that the team of physicians treating a patient are all from the same school, albeit at different stages of their training and career. In the emergency ward and trauma center, efficiency is paramount because the patient may be facing a life or death situation. Grady operates differently than a normal hospital in this area. Where a patient would normally undergo a series of tests in sequence, a patient at Grady would undergo a barrage of tests all at once. The physicians need to know what is wrong now, not later, and the flurry of tests and treatments that takes place was described by Dr. Moore as providing “two months of care in two hours.” The providers at Grady are not only efficient, but provide quality care, as well. Denise remarked that she often cannot believe how some patients walk out of the hospital on the same day they enter it with such traumatic injuries.

After our tour of the facilities, we sat down in a classroom to ask Denise and Dr. Moore some questions about Grady and the population it serves. Here’s a bit of what we learned:

• The four most common symptoms that show up in the emergency department are chest pain, abdominal pain, headaches, and trauma, in that order.
• Grady has interpreting services staffed 24 hours per day, but with the volume of patients served, they often must use technology to connect interpreters with patients.
• Hypertension and diabetes are two of the most common diseases, and they are usually linked and have a higher prevalence in lower income communities.
• About 1-2% of their patients are HIV positive, and about half who test positive did not know it prior to their visit.
• Grady sees patients from 151 of 159 counties in Georgia, and they also receive patients from North Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.

Our stay at Grady concluded with a trip through the Carolina MED-1 mobile hospital, which was brought in to cover a surge in patients who needed emergency care.

MED-1 is surrounded by what appear to be tarps like those used for party tents, but on the inside, it looks and functions just like an emergency department. As a prospective medical student, this facility and all the others that we saw are intriguing, and it is reassuring to know that providers always have access to high-quality equipment at Grady. The phrase “I want to work here” was not uncommon among the members of our group today.

We took a few quick pictures with Dr. Moore in front of an ambulance before heading off to Sweet Auburn market. I apologize for the lack of pictures of food; our stomachs didn’t think about the blog before demanding food. After eating our fill of Venezuelan arepas, spinach pies, soul food, and burritos (Matthew consumed two burritos during the day), we set out for our next adventure at Spelman College.

Blogger: Damon Schmalzreidt

Viterbo faculty and staff and have been working with the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) to develop opportunities for our students to encounter faith traditions that may not be familiar to them. We understand this work as a way of living into the radical hospitality of the university’s Franciscan tradition and, in particular, the early efforts of St. Francis to promote interreligious dialogue. Today is an example of this initiative, and we are grateful for the support of Viterbo and IFYC in making it possible.

As our four student bloggers for Monday remind us below, Atlanta is home to many different peoples with distinctive (and contested) histories and presents. Throughout the day, we reflected on the persistent questions at the heart of the U.S. experiment in democracy:

What does it mean to live in a religiously pluralistic society?

How do we understand our responsibilities to one another in a society founded on the ideal e pluribus unum – out of many one?

What familiar categories do we use to help us navigate encounters with worldviews that confront us as radically different than what we know – whether a different faith tradition (the Hindu temple visit) or a different interpretation of what sociologists have come to call “civil religion” in the U.S. (the place of Stone Mountain in our collective memory)?

Monday morning arrived and our group was ready for some more Atlanta adventuring! Today we set out to explore a Hindu temple and take a hike up Stone Mountain. Prior to this trip, myself along with two other students have been learning about the different religions that are practiced in Atlanta, so I am going to dive into this piece of our day. The vast array of religions that are practiced in this particular city is truly remarkable. Many different cultures bring their practices and spiritual beliefs to this ever-growing city, which creates a place that embraces diversity, yet has clear divisions throughout the city. I am going to give you a little insight into the world of Hinduism and what we got to experience today. 

Our journey to BAPS (the Hindu temple) today was exciting for us all since we have not gotten to see first-hand what one looks like nor what it is about. We were fortunate enough to have a tour guide walk us through the temple and talk to us about the creation of this architectural masterpiece, while also giving us some background about their religion. Just to put BAPS into prospective for all you curious readers, this gorgeous place of worship is composed of limestone from Turkey on the outside and marble from Italy on the inside. There are over 34,000 hand-carved pieces that were all crafted in India and brought over to be used at this place of worship for the Hindu community. Let me just say this, pictures do not do this place justice. The amount of intricate detail that went into these carvings is something that you need to see for yourself. One of the most amazing parts about BAPS is that there were no metal pieces used to hold the temple together when constructing it. Everything is held together by a well-thought out engineering design that makes all the stone carvings fit together perfectly. I could list endless amounts of jaw-dropping facts about this Hindu temple, but that might get a little lengthy. One of the most astonishing ones to me however was the carving in the ceiling once you got inside the main temple. It is a beautiful lotus flower that is surrounded by dancing figures that are important in the Hindu religion. This lotus flower weighs a whopping 4.7 tons…yes you heard that right, 9400 pounds! This is just one of the thousands of one-of-kind pieces that is a must see if you get the chance to venture to the city we are taking in for a week. It is definitely something you will not regret.

Now you may be asking, what makes Hinduism so unique? Well one of the first misconceptions of this religion is that it is polytheistic. That is not the case however. The tour guide explained it more as the belief in one God while having multiple ways to worship their one God. Another unique aspect about Hinduism is their belief in deities. These deities are the gods and goddesses that make up several forms of the God they believe in. There are five ceremonies held every day to pray and worship to these deities. The deities are fed, bathed, and put to sleep each day during these ceremonies. Our class was able to be a part of a ceremony where they fed the deities and sang along to some traditional hymns. This was an opportunity most of us have not been offered or exposed to, so we were right on board with it.

Expanding our knowledge about different religions has been a big part of the past few days for us. I think it is safe to say we are making discoveries and learning pieces of information about these religions that we can compare with our own beliefs and help us to become more proficient in global religions. Overall, today was another successful day for us explorers and we are looking forward to learning more about this incredible city in the week to come! 

Blogger: Natalie Schmitt

To be honest, this is my first time ever writing a blog. I am not sure what our readers want, if you want to hear about our itinerary or if I should write about my feelings. I will try to make a blend of both. I’m just going to go for it.

Our day started with a sleek, black coach bus picking us up at the Villa International. We drove to the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, which is the Hindu Temple, and to me, it felt like seeing the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls for the first time. I was busy talking to my friends on the bus, happened to glance out my window, and there it was; just out of the blue, in the middle of the city.

The temple was gated and surrounded by flowers, lawns, and a large reflecting pool that I made a wish in. The entire temple was made from 34,000 pieces of Italian Carrara marble, Turkish limestone, and Indian pink sandstone. Each of these pieces were hand-carved by 1,500 craftsmen in India and shipped to the United States by boat, plane, and train. We were disappointed that we could not take pictures near and inside the temple. It would have been a lot easier to show you the intricacy and detail of the stone. (See other blog posts for the temple photos.)

Walking up the steps on the side of the reflection pool, we were greeting by a stone peacock, a symbol of welcome in Hindu tradition. We then were given a closer look at the temple. Each piece is extremely ornate, and I was surprised how each fit together, even though they were created by many individuals. On the outside walls of the temple, there were prominent figures of the Hindu religion that were honored by large statues, very similar to those of the saints in Mary of the Angels Chapel.

As we entered into the temple, we were asked to remove our shoes as Hindus believe that shoes will discredit the sanctity of the space. The marble was cold until we walked up the stairs. The intricate carvings of the white marble glistened with light teal, blue, and white lights from the floor. The space was ethereal. I really don’t know how quite to describe it. To me, it did not feel like a place of worship. It was an art form that was made to honor their deities and their God. I could have spent hours upon hours looking at the pillars, the walls, the ceiling, and the statues of the deities surrounded in gold. I am still awestruck. The statues of the prominent figures in the Hindu religion were beautifully dressed; some in clothing that resembled monks, and others in ornate beaded gowns and headpieces.

After our tour of the temple, we watched a short informational film on how it was made, who is honored in the temple, and other information about the Hindu religion. The focus of the film was around the main figure of the temple, Shri Swaminarayan. He focused on ending the practice of female infanticide, promoting women’s education, and equality in religion. The video also mentioned the different temples in India and how the architecture looked between the different temples.  

At the temple, we were able to participate in a prayer of lights that is typically performed once a day. The deities that we were focusing on in the ceremony were behind closed doors because the deities were just fed. This is interesting compared to other religions because the Hindu religion takes care of the deities as they are humans. The deities are fed, clothed, and washed by the monks at the temple. After the doors were opened to reveal the deities, the monks waved flames from a lamp around the deities like incense. Flames were passed in trays around the participants in the prayer for them to take the energy of the light and touch it to their forehead. Unfortunately, most of us were not offered the flame. What struck me most about the Hindu temple is the segregation between men and women during the prayer service. Women were made to sit in the back of the temple, behind rope, while the men were made in the front of the temple nearest the statues. This was very different to me because the previous day, we went to the Ebenezer Baptist Church and the sermon was about the #MeToo movement in women and sexual and domestic violence. When we discussed afterwards the purposes of segregating the chapel, one of the students remembered from a previous class at Viterbo the explanation that the men would be ‘distracted’ by the females if they were integrated during the service. I am not completely sure on the reason of the segregation, if our hypothesis is correct or if women are seen as inferior to the men during worship. I want to research more on the practices of the Hindu religion in comparison to the religions I have been a part of.  During the whole ceremony, there was a musical prayer that played throughout the service. Honestly, when it started playing, I jumped out of my seat. I did not expect music and I did not expect it to be so loud. The ceremony only lasted 7 minutes so it went by quickly as well, which again is different from other practices in other religions, such as the Rosary that is a very extensive prayer that is very common in Catholicism

At Stone Mountain, we hiked over 1,300 feet. The view was incredible from the top of the mountain. It showcased much of the Georgia environment and also showed the skylines of Atlanta. It started to rain while we were on the mountain, which made the rock very slippery. Many of us slipped on our way down, but we still had fun. I did not go see the confederate artwork carved on the side of the mountain due to the trek up and down, but I was very happy to be able to experience some green space on our trip to the city. I was glad to see the diversity at the site, especially since it honored confederate generals. Overall, I thought it was an amazing experience and I was glad I got to read up on some of the history at Stone Mountain.

That’s All from Me!

Blogger: Elaine Remus

The roots of true achievement lie in the will to become the best that you can become.

Harold Taylor

My feet sunk deep into the ground after I fell off of my mother’s branches. My roots connected, intertwined and fastened around hers, just like they should.

Today, for me, was about connecting with those around you, and harboring love with a sense of identity.  I asked myself who am I? What does this moment mean to me right now as I am sharing it with others? How can I harbor this feeling and what does it mean? As we pulled up to the Hindu temple I was stunned by its striking beauty. The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Atlanta is a Hindu mandir, or place of worship and praise. The mandir is constructed out of over 34,400 pieces. Each one of the individual pieces was hand-carved out of Italian marble, Turkish Limestone and Indian pink sandstone.

The tour guide explained that the carvings all have different, and ornate patterns, and that each detail has something significant behind it.  What stuck with me the most is the inaccuracy of the preconceived notions that I initially had on Hinduism and how ignorant I had been. Hinduism always intrigued me, as it is a welcoming and loving religion, yet at the same time there were numerous things that I didn’t know.  For example, I knew it was considered polytheistic, but I didn’t know that they actually believe in only one god, but their god takes many forms. Hinduism is not entrapped in only the body and the mind, but also in spirit. God, to Hindus, is in everything, and I think that is a powerful and an uplifting view. We were allowed to breeze in and out, breathing in sanctified air, and it filled me to the brim with humility. I was amazed to observe the ongoing complexity of each shrine that encapsulated a deity.

As I sat down for the service, I reflected deeply on where I come from, where I am and where I want to be. I closed my eyes briefly and concentrated on my ethnic identity, and how I am rooted to those around me.  As I dove, mentally, into my family history and what is means to be “me,” I became extremely thankful for those who have supported and propelled me forward. We need our roots to keep us grounded and  self-aware. Our roots remind us of our blessings.

After the Hindu service I was able to take part in a ritual called, Abhishek Mandap, where we poured water over Shri Nilkanth Varni in order to honor him and attain his blessings. Although I wasn’t completely culturally aware of what goes on in this ritual, I did truly feel blessed. After this ritual I was able to ask a young woman what this means to her, and she said, “ I feel this overwhelming sense of connectedness and support. Hinduism means family to me, it is where I come from.”  This idea of connectedness stuck with me, as did the importance of familial roots and their unique histories.

After the temple we traveled to Stone Mountain. Stone Mountain is a smaller Mt. Rushmore, except significantly more controversial as it is engraved with the generals of the Confederacy.  Eagerness pooled deep inside my belly, yet in the back of my head I had this feeling of anguish. The last few days, I have been incredibly focused on my black history, and feeling proud when I hear all the things that they ruthlessly and courageously endured so that I could have these basic privileges and freedoms I experience now. Stepping off the bus and looking up at that demonizing mountain I felt weak, like a small child being stood over by an adult, and I also felt confusion. Confused that people have so much hatred in their heart, and that there are monuments that praise that hatred. As I trekked up the mountain, with every breath I took, I expired my anger. I thought silently about how proud my ancestors would be if they saw me here. I thought about how people with hatred and intolerance in their heart were simply planted in the wrong place, and how their roots are just perturbed tangled knots. When I finally reached the top, I was relieved. I had come to terms that all those roots whether ugly or not, they played a part, both subconsciously and knowingly, in who I am. These roots and family histories are what enriches our national history.

Thank you so much for following our blog! 

Blogger: Alaryana Lipke-Randle

Today was another day of immersion for the Atlanta V-hawks. We started by busing to a nearby Hindu temple, where we got a full tour and experienced one of the regular prayer rituals. Yesterday we got a look at some of the forms of Christianity thriving in Atlanta, but the city is a hub of many world religions as well! After, we went to Plaza Fiesta, a Hispanic mall with lots of colorful shops and restaurants. Everywhere we go, I continue to be surprised at how welcoming and open the different groups are to a large pack of Midwesterners carrying backpacks and (in my case at least) looking very much like fish out of water.

Our afternoon was spent hiking at Stone Mountain, a site which stood in contrast to anything we had encountered yet on the trip. The mountain is home to the Confederate Memorial Carving, with 100-foot tall carved figures of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson galloping across the face of the rock. It was the founding place for the second Ku Klux Klan in 1915, and was purchased by the state as a “memorial to the Confederacy” in the 1950’s. Today, it’s a popular spot for people of all races and backgrounds, including hikers, photographers, families picnicking, and even snow tubers in the winter months.

Our mile-long hike to the peak gave us plenty of time to ponder the monument’s place in modern Atlanta. The imposing carving didn’t fit in very well with the diverse, progressive, “too busy to hate” city that I’d experienced over the past few days. It was jarring to see Confederate flags waving alongside the state and national ones scattered throughout the park. Does a monument dedicated to the leaders of the Confederate Army really have a place in an “ethical city?” It’s a complicated question. Regardless, the Civil War and its resounding effects played an integral part in Atlanta’s history. To me, the monument is a reminder of the progress that has been made in the century since its construction began. Where the KKK once conducted their meetings, African American families, not to mention visitors from all around the world, are hiking, talking, and playing together. The struggle for human rights is ongoing, but the mountain we climbed today is much different than the one that was carved out a century ago.

Blogger: Sarah Prill

Conversations throughout the day (and late into the night) reaffirmed for me (1) the privilege it is to accompany these remarkable young adults on this adventure and (2) the power of experiential learning outside the classroom to ignite curiosity, inspire compassion, and invite reflection.

It is worth noting that the student bloggers, like journalists on a deadline, put in long days, often writing late into the night after our evening debrief.

Our two student bloggers for the day offer their perspectives on our immersion in the Historic Sweet Auburn neighborhood of Atlanta.

~ Professor Matthew

The morning started out a little rough since we lost another hour last night due to daylight savings time, plus we had to pack up all of our belongings and check out of the hotel in preparation for our move to the Villa International later in the day. After we left the hotel, we took the MARTA straight to Ebenezer Baptist Church. There are actually two Ebenezer Baptist Churches in Atlanta: the historic church where Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr. preached (which is open for tourists and no longer used for worship services) and the new church which was built right across the street from the original, which is more modern and much larger in order to fit the ever-growing congregation. We arrived a little bit early while the first service of the morning was still underway, so we hung out in the lobby of the adjacent MLK Center until that service was finished.

Before I go into the description of the church service, I’m going to give some background on some influences on my perspective of the morning. I’ve been attending Catholic Masses for my entire life, and I participate a lot in campus ministry at Viterbo, including singing at Mass every week with the St. Francis choir and participating in the more non-denominational Christian events such as Praise and Worship and Taize prayer. Besides a memorial service for a friend at what I believe was technically a Pentecostal church almost 2 years ago, I’ve never been to a Mass/worship service of another denomination. So, my contemplation for the morning was about similarities and differences between the Baptist church and the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church which a small group of us attended afterward, drawing from prior experience at my home church of St. Charles in Burlington, as well as San Damiano at Viterbo.

My main takeaway was how we are more similar than we are different. It’s easy to be blinded by differences when you’re so used to nearly the exact same rituals every Sunday. First example: the music at each church. Ebenezer had a HUGE choir compared to the St. Francis choir at Viterbo, even when the choir was divided into the children and adults. Plus, since the music and choir is so central to the service, the choir is front and center, rather than off to the side like it is in every Catholic church I’ve been in. (The Altar and the Tabernacle are front and center, because the Sacrament of the Eucharist is the center of the Catholic Mass). But the similarity is that all the choirs enhance the worship experience by praising God through song.

Another difference is the style of music; both churches in Atlanta had more of a gospel style in their music. But the core of the music itself was still extremely similar. For example, the opening song at Ebenezer was “How Great Thou Art,” which is an absolute classic, with a little flair in the form of a soloist vocalizing over the huge choir and an organ accompanying (which I loved because I could sing as loudly as I wanted without half the politely-singing-quietly congregation immediately recognizing that Marilyn Fallon’s daughter with the voice is back from college). The music at Lady of our Lourdes was much more of a chill gospel sound, with a minimal four-person SATB quartet accompanied by a piano, saxophone, and drums. Although the style of the music was different from other churches I’ve attended, the musical structure within the Mass was exactly the same as any Catholic Mass (opening, kyrie eleison, psalm, Gospel acclamation, offertory, holy holy, mystery of faith, great amen, lamb of God, communion, closing. Like I said, every Sunday). Speaking of structure, there’s another difference. Our Lady of Lourdes had a slightly different structure than I was used to, with the intercessions and sign of peace occurring before the preparation of the gifts. That served to thwart the assumption I previously held that any Catholic Mass will always has the same order and structure, so that was interesting. I’m not familiar with the normal structure of Baptist services at all, so I had zero assumptions going in.

The main differences I picked up on in Ebenezer before I left for the Catholic Church (the service was longer than expected) was that they did announcements of church-related and church-sponsored activities and events very soon in the service, whereas Catholics normally have announcements after Communion, near the end of the Mass. Also, Ebenezer is a very large church, so they had a lot of events going on, including events sponsored by clubs within the church (including clubs of people who were born in each month, like the April Birth Month Club, which I thought was a very creative way to get people together who maybe otherwise wouldn’t have met in that large of a congregation). But I realized that this ties back to how traditionally African-American churches were a place not only for worship, but for community gathering and support in times of oppression, when racial discrimination made it difficult for these groups to gather together and form organizations without facing backlash from racists trying to prevent them from gaining social or political power. Even in the modern day, churches are very central and influential within African-American communities, and it was really cool to see that first-hand.

As for more similarities, both churches we visited today took the time during the service to welcome us as visitors, ask us where we were from, and what brought us to Atlanta, which made me feel like our group of mostly white midwesterners were welcomed in these primarily African-American congregations. Both sermons I heard left me with some takeaways about listening and understanding between us as humans and God and our subsequent actions; at Ebenezer there was a message that we are all seen and heard by God, and all our words and actions matter, while at Our Lady of Lourdes, the message was that we need to take care to listen when God is speaking to us and pay attention, so that our actions are according to His plan for the good of all. The sermon at Ebenezer continued on to cover some modern issues, so make sure to check out Sam’s blog about the rest of the sermon.

After Mass, we made our way to grab some lunch at the Krog Street marketplace. It was way to crowded and busy for my comfort, but everyone was able to get whatever type of food they were in the mood for, and that food (at least the pizza that Therese and I shared) was incredible.

After that, we walked down the street where MLK Jr. was born, right through Sweet Auburn, on our way back to the MLK National Park. All the restored houses were gorgeous, and it was really cool to get a glimpse of what Atlanta looked like in MLK’s time. Visiting the MLK Center was very powerful experience, from seeing the reflecting pool, where Martin and Coretta are laid to rest (see image above), to the museum dedicated to their lives. The part that struck me the most was the room where twin timelines of the lives of Martin and Coretta are laid out on opposite walls. It was mind-blowing how much MLK was involved in before his assassination, and it was equally mind-blowing how Coretta did so much to keep his legacy alive even after his death, including taking his place in marches, giving speeches, and being a rights activist up until the time of her own passing. I gave up trying to read everything on her timeline because she did so many incredible things, it was too much to process.

No matter how hard you try, you can’t stop progress, not with a knife, a bullet, a bill or a wall. The ideals and legacy will live on and overcome, until justice prevails. And we’re still on the journey to equal rights and justice for everyone, as we saw in the Civil and Human Rights Museum. But I believe that we will get there… eventually.

Blogger: Caitlin Fallon

I am not going to sit here and talk about what we did today.  I am not going to walk you through our day, exciting as it was, or read you the itinerary.  Frankly, I do not think that would be doing any of us a favor.  Rather, I am going to tell you what today made me feel – the emotions it provoked in me and what today truly meant to me.

Ebenezer Baptist Church is a large, beautiful building located in the Sweet Auburn District of Atlanta. It is where both Martin Luther King Sr. & Jr. preached to the congregation and is very close to where Dr. King was born.  This church, though large and impressive, was quite small in nature.  It had a feel to it that closely reminded me of my hometown – a small, tight knit community.  EBC welcomed our large group with open arms without blinking an eye, and even made it a point to mention us in the announcements to encourage the congregation to recognize us.  Now that is what I call southern hospitality. I know what you’re probably all thinking, “Wow a Baptist church service? You will be there until supper time!” and honestly, I thought so too.  However, it was not like this at all.  The service was nothing like what I expected, but it was exactly what I needed.

Just to give a little background – to be in an African American based church means to be open.  To share things you would not normally share. To hold hands for ten uncomfortable minutes or to get hugs and kisses on the cheek from strangers.  There are no boundaries here, and to be quite honest, I prefer it this way.  I prefer it because the pastor takes the time to talk about new groups that are visiting the church, the congregation takes a minute to sing happy birthday and the people around you make you feel like there is no other place in the world you should be.  I prefer it because they openly talk about the #MeToo movement, bring individuals forward to hold each other and they love each other without limitations.

I walked into church today not expecting to feel everything I did, but I could not stop the emotions from coming.  To go from laughing to crying in a matter of minutes proves how fragile and beautiful religion really is.  To have a pastor that talked to us about how the Lord will care for us in times we cannot even care for ourselves shows us what it means to be loved and to be saved. He stood in front of a congregation and did not worry about being controversial. He was completely transparent and because of that, the congregation was too.

Today’s sermon focused on hidden figures. The people we all see but do not actually notice.  Those we listen to, but we do not actually hear.  Perhaps it is the people who clean our hotel rooms the night before we visit whom we do not get the chance to thank, or the people in our 8 a.m. class we drown out while we watch the clock tick by.  These hidden figures that we never take the time to truly engage with or understand. 

To be a hidden figure is not challenging, perhaps it has happened to you once or twice; I know it has happened to me.  I know there are days I have felt like nothing I did mattered and days where I did not want to continue.  There have been days where I, too, have ignored someone because I was too tired, too focused on something else or too selfish to listen.  I have been a hidden figure and I have made others feel like a hidden figure as well. The point is, we all have.

The thing about hidden figures is that they are hidden for a reason – we do not take the time to see them.  We do not realize the struggle that each person goes through and the face that they put on every day to make it seem like they are okay.  The truth is, so many people are not okay.  So many people are barely surviving and have yet to be noticed.  Many people we pass on the streets, in the hall or at the super market are begging for someone to show them that they do matter.  The EBC made me realize how stigmatized we make these things.  How we make others feel weak for needing help or not being able to be independent. The truth is, no one really wants to be alone, and yet we brush others off and make them feel alone every day.

I never would have guessed that I would have held the hands of others today who had gone through the same battles that I did. If you were to ask me what I was going to do today, crying in front of an unfamiliar congregation would not have been on the agenda, but I am so glad it was.  There is no shame in needing help and there is no shame in not wanting to be alone. There is no shame in reaching out in your time of need or asking someone to please, listen to what you are saying because it is important to you. There is no shame in no longer wanting to be a hidden figure.

Today was long, intense and beautiful. It was everything that religion has always proved itself to be in my life.  I know there is no clear answer to what we can do to help all the people we want to help, and we all know we cannot save everyone.  We can, however, try to help people even when they do not ask. We can take a few extra minutes to say thank you, I appreciate you or simply ask if someone is okay.  We can push ourselves to not let others feel like a hidden figure in our lives and show them how much they mean to us. Every person you meet has faced a battle you know nothing about, so be kind. If God made everyone for a reason, let kindness be your reason. As the saying goes – we should be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody. 

Blogger: Sam Merkel

***See separate posts for three student perspectives on our first day in Atlanta

While the bloggers were blogging, the remaining students were asked to reflect on the following journal prompt as they begin to “read the city as text”:

Cities throughout time and across the globe reveal their identities in what they locate in their centers – e.g., the agora in Athens in ancient times. Centennial Olympic Park functions in the modern urbanscape of Atlanta as a kind of city center. Reflect here on the places you visited, and how you see these places fitting into the larger story Atlanta wants to tell about its history, its present, and its future.

Based on your experience today, what do understand to be central to Atlanta’s identity?

What specific themes stand out to you?

NOTE TO READERS: One of the goals of the blog is to invite you, the reader, into our class conversations about how cities promote and hinder human flourishing. We invite you to think about your own experiences of city centers – perhaps even Atlanta’s, if you have been here. Share your thoughts in the comments section on what you have learned about a city’s identity from its center.