This summer, we are showcasing four historical “walks”. Some are by choice, a few are not. All relate to our summer theme of Mercy, Justice, and Humility. Our “walks” will run from June 18th to August 27th. The walks are listed below. There is more information available for each walk below.
- Ghandi’s Salt March of 1930 - 240 miles
- Selma – Civil rights march of 1965 - 54 miles
- Women’s Suffrage Parade of 1913 – 1.2 miles plus the walk from NYC to DC leading up to the parade - 226 miles
- Trail of Tears (Georgia to Oklahoma route) - 2200 miles
How does it work?
Pick a march/walk. Collect a group of friends and/or family to pool your miles. Learn more about these ‘walks’ and then think/discuss questions like “where would Jesus be in this walk?” or “how can I do justice, seek kindness, or walk humbly with my God?”
Note: You don’t have to just walk! You could run, bike, swim, skip, pogo stick or do cartwheels. As long as you’re moving without using a motor – it counts! If you use a pedometer, 2500 steps (roughly) = 1 mile.
Then What?
After your group has completed a walk, report back to the "Walk Info" booth (at Coffee Hour) to receive your reward, and pick your next walk. Pamphlets for each of these marches will be available at Coffee Hour, online (after June 18), and in the Welcome Center. Pamphlets contain info on the walk, a map of ‘where’ you’re traveling, and a place to track your miles.
Questions? Contact stalbott@firstpresbyterian.org, or inquire at our "Walk Info" booth at Coffee Hour.
Ghandi’s Salt March of 1930
Distance: 240 miles
India’s Salt March was devised by Mahatma Gandhi as a non-violent act of civil disobedience. Thousands of Indians followed Gandhi on the 240 mile walk that began near Ahmedabad and ended in Dandi, a city on the Arabian Sea coast. The march resulted in the arrest of nearly 60,000 people, including Gandhi himself, and India’s eventual independence from Great Britain.
Learn more...
View the Salt March of 1930 brochure here (pdf)
- http://www.history.com/topics/salt-march
- http://www.thoughtco.com/gandhis-salt-march-1779287
- http://www.mapsofindia.com/personalities/gandhi/dandi-march.html
See an actual video of the march at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJdErHQGEHM
Selma 1965
Distance: 54 miles
In March of 1965 non-violent protesters demanding the right to vote for African Americans held marches along U.S. Route 80 from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery. The events around these marches represented the political and emotional peak of the modern civil rights movement. During the marches many were injured and several killed by state and local law enforcement officers. In 1996 the Selma-to-Montgomery National Historic Trail was created by Congress, designating it an “All-American Road”, an original route of national significance in American history.
Learn more...
View the Selma March brochure here (pdf)
- http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_selma_to_montgomery_march
- http://mapoftheweek.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-selma-march-byway.html
See an actual video of the march at: http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/selma-montgomery-march
1913 Suffrage Parade
Distance: 1.2 - 226 miles
The women’s suffrage procession of 1913 was the first of its kind held in Washington, D.C. The event was organized by Alice Paul of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, who called upon women from all over the country to march. A flyer from the time stated:
WHY YOU MUST MARCH
Because this is the most conspicuous and important demonstration that has ever been attempted by suffragists in this country. Because this parade will be taken to indicate the importance of the suffrage movement by the press of the country and the thousands of spectators from all over the United States gathered in Washington for the Inauguration.
Sixteen suffragettes left New York City on February 12 and walked to Washington for the parade, a “hike” of 226 miles. Thousands of suffragists from all over the nation and the world marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., on March 3, 1913 “in a spirit of protest against the present political organization of society, from which women are excluded.” The procession is scheduled to be depicted and honored on the redesign of the United States ten-dollar bill in 2020. (Wikipedia)
Learn more...
View the Suffrage Parade brochure here (pdf)
- http://www.legacy.com/news/explore-history/article/the-women-who-suffered-for-suffrage
- http://www.crusadeforthevote.org/
- http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2014/03/traveling-for-suffrage-part-2-general-jones-andher-army-of-suffrage-pilgrims.html
Trail of Tears, 1838-1839
Distance: 2200 miles
As part of Andrew Jackson’s Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to migrate from their ancestral homelands east of the Mississippi River to an area now in Oklahoma designated as Indian territory. The migrants faced hunger, disease, and exhaustion on the forced march. Over 4,000 out of 15,000 of the Cherokees died. In the Cherokee language, the relocation is called nu na da ul tsun yi (“the place where they cried”) or nu na hi du na tlo hi lu i (the trail where they cried).