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| <p><strong>Joanne Bland:</strong> Uhm.. that you can’t bring up education without sayin’ something about the in- inadequacies in school, and doin’ something, about it. The- the first real problem is that you can’t- take those kids out of private school so they can know each other, because we gonna have the same things. We’re fightin’ now cuz you don’t know me. You know? You gotta have that kind of dialogue. And he’d say, “Well I don’t wanna take my child out of private school.” But maybe we’ll open the private up- schools up, to everybody. Maybe you might want to send your child to private school and this is a good school, I like this school, my child likes this school. You might want to check it out and see if you want to send your child here. Right now uhm.. there is no way to- to cross those bridges, and that’s what we need to do- build bridges where we can meet half way and get these things out of the way.</p> |
| <p>Q: We have these kids coming your way and I’m really looking forward to it. We’re hoping that they’re going to be agents of change, they are going to be able to accomplish something. How will you challenge them? How would you provoke some kind of action?</p> |
| <p><strong>Joanne Bland:</strong> That’s a- a good question. I’m usually scare it out of ‘em but <laughs>. Uhm.. that’s hard to say. Uhm.. Selma I’ve seen thousands- tens of thousands of children in the last 11, 12 years. Right? And I get these letters back. I got stacks of letters uhm.. on what inspired each one. “You inspired me to do this” and “you inspired me to change.” Uhm- uhm.. “You inspired me to go out and do this and- and that I’ll never be the same.” But almost every letter has somethin’ different in it. So I don’t- I don’t know. I do <sniffs> pretty much the same to it with all children. They could be orange and I get- do the same to ‘em. I do challenge them uhm.. on how- what are they gonna do uhm..- “what are you gonna do now? We are this far. Uh.. we’ve gotten you this far. Where do you take it from here?” And I don’t know whether my spiel does it but I- I get- I had 10 letters today and- and trust me, I read every one <laughs>. Uhm.. 10 letters today from a tour that came uh.. last week. And uhm.. we do a portion where we pick up a rock. And uhm.. it’s a rock from the original cement where uhm.. we assembled on Bloody Sunday. It’s a-- uh.. the cement’s all old and broken now and they pick up this rock. And the-- when they first pick it up, they think I’m crazy, you know- uhm.. <laughs> “Why’s she makin’ me pick up this nasty rock?” And then I’d say, “Is it heavy?” “No”- you know, children can get so nasty. And then I go around and look at it and I’ll say, “Oh, you know that looks just like the rock John Lewis stood on before he took his- right through there to that bridge to be beaten by those law enforcement officers. I betcha that’s John’s ro- ro- rock.” And I go through the crowd and point out one or two more and I call some names that may- “Hey, you might be holdin’ the one I was standin’ on. That looks just like that rock my big toe was on”- you know- “before we left.” And.. we talk about how we saved the cement- uh.. they wanted to take it up and put new cement down. And uhm.. then we ta- uh.. I tell them, I say, “Now you can keep that rock or you could throw that rock away.” Already in the crowd, when uh.. they find out you may have somebody’s rock, that is the original cement, you’ll see people trying to ease it in their pocket without me seeing it. But I tell them, “If you take that rock back, I want you to put it where you can see it every day. Every day. So when you see injustice, of any kind, toward anyone, and you feel you can’t do anything, I want you to pick up that rock and put it in your hand and take from it the strength that ordinary people, just like yourself, stood on these rocks, and we may change- that not only affected Selma but this entire nation- and then get up off your butt and do something.” Right? You’ll see- nobody throws a rock away- nobody. They take that rock. I- uhm.. one lady sent me a picture of her rock. She had it professionally mounted and stuff. I’m like goin’- <laughs> and it’s just a rock from our old cement and I never thought when I uh.. started doin’ it that uh.. it would have the effect that it has. There’s some talk about uhm.. me telling them about Bloody Sunday- or the personal stories of uhm..- like the one in Gaston’s [ph?], uhm.. or the one with the shoes- I don’t wanna talk about that crap. And uhm.. they write back about those things. So I don’t ever know what it is they’s gonna tell me. It may be the rock with them. It may be-- but uhm.. what you do is interview their ________- and I’m sure they’ll tell ya..- us.</p> |
| <p>Q: That’s actually what we’re trying to do is to interview them and have them interview themselves, so that we can kind of see that change through this experience. I’m sure yours would be an immeasurable impact. I’m really looking forward to having you.</p> |
| <p><strong>Joanne Bland:</strong> Oh you’re too kind.</p> |
| <p>Q: Now what’s going to be going around in your head when you cross that bridge on Sunday, because I’m going to be looking?</p> |
| <p><strong>Joanne Bland:</strong> Who is we? <laughs></p> |
| <p>Q: We’re all going to be crossing.</p> |
| <p><strong>Joanne Bland:</strong> You mean that in the royal sense of- you mean us.</p> |
| <p>Q: All of you.</p> |
| <p><strong>Joanne Bland:</strong> Me too?</p> |
| <p>Q: What’s going to go through your head? How are you going to feel? Are you going to go across…? </p> |
| <p><strong>Joanne Bland:</strong> I haven’t been across that bridge-- uhm.. this is our 11th Jubilee, and I haven’t been across that bridge since the first one. Uhm.. one thing, for the- say the first five years the museum was open, I was crossin’ it every day with a group. Right? And uhm.. the next time- the very next year uhm.. that they went across, for the Jubilee, I was so busy that I couldn’t get it and they were gone across the bridge by the time I got everything that needed to be on the other side of the bridge at the time. So usually my job-- and Ophelia’s with me, because they have a ceremony at the bottom of the bridge then. Us- usually-- and Ophelia’s with it. But I tell you about when I used to cross it, what I felt. Uhm.. for awhile I couldn’t do it- uh.. Sam had to lead my groups across there. After I’d do the tour, he would lead them. I tried, and the closer the-- you know the bridge goes up- goes up- and the more I walked, with each step, the more I thought about Bloody Sunday, that they were gonna be waiting for me. And I’d say, “Oh this is nonsense. This is 30-some odd years later and I’m still standin’ here lookin’ stupid.” And - but my feet did not connect with the ground. </p> |
| <p>Q: Just a second. I’m sorry.</p> |
| <p><strong>Joanne Bland:</strong> That bridge is not ugly.</p> |
| <p>Q: Well, no, ugly as it is, people had to suffer there. That’s what….</p> |
| <p><strong>Joanne Bland:</strong> That’s what was ugly- not the bridge.</p> |
| <p>Q: Exactly. I’d like to know a little about your emotions when you think about the bridge.</p> |
| <p><strong>Joanne Bland:</strong> You-- first I don’t feel like I’m at home until I see it. I can go anywhere in the- in the world. If uhm.. I don’t come over the bridge, I don’t feel like I’m at home. And we have a bypass now and I live near the bypass and people like to take me down the bypass, to get home, and I don’t like that. I want to go over the bridge and uhm.. look downtown and feel like I’m home. Every time I see- get to that light out across the river, I think about those times. Whether it’s because of my position, my job now, or- or what. I don’t know. Uh.. I felt that way before uhm.. even comin’ back home. Every time I passed over that ground, I felt like it was hallowed ground because I know- I saw the blood. I could uhm..- I heard the pain. I saw those men just beating people. And just by the grace of God, I didn’t get beat. That uhm..-- and every time I see a State Trooper crossin’ that bridge, it’s anticipying [ph?]- whether that trooper looks like me or whether he’s white- he’s still a Alabama State Trooper who participated in this stuff. It just goes back and it becomes very vivid. And when I would try to cross the bridge, I couldn’t. I couldn’t even watch the footage on the Eyes of the Prize because uh.. it has the screams, it shows the violence. And uhm.. there’s one uhm.. scene in Eyes on the Prize where they surrounded us at the foot of that bridge. Uhm.. people are tryin’ to get out and all you see are the Billy clubs goin’ up and down, up and down, beating people. And- who were peaceful and unarmed. I- I- I feel all that stuff and it comes back. I- I just couldn’t do it. It took me about five years to really go across that bridge. And uhm.. then I-- uh.. just one day, Sam wasn’t there and I took these people over the bridge and.. I did it. And no policemen were there. There was no- no horses. If I had seen a State Trooper’s car and it was brand new, it would’ve still been that same picture. None of that happened. I went over the bridge, I survived, nobody beat me- I did it. So I started doin’ it again. But since then I stopped again. It’s just too tirin’. It takes too much out of me now. <laughs> It does not have the same effect. It takes too much out of me when I do the tours. It’s uhm..- it’s like acting. Uh.. I guess uhm.. I’m on for that period of time and the moment that I’m done, I’m exhausted and uhm.. I need to rest. So I see why they pay actors a lot of money- hint, hint, Board of Directors- uhm.. to do the things they do. I always wonder about these exorbitant salaries but I understand now, because I am physically exhausted. Uhm.. I on- I- I run on uhm.. pure adrenaline when there’s bus after bus, but the moment that last bus leave- the moment they get to that last room, I’m done. I can’t..- I can’t do anything else. So I probably won’t be goin’ across that bridge with you Sunday. But I’m sure enough people’ll be there who participated- that will walk across that with you, and that those children will be walkin’ in the footsteps of history makers and with history makers. And all our children can’t say that.</p> |
| <p>Q: Well I’m going to be thinking of you. Thank you very much.</p> |
| <p><strong>Joanne Bland:</strong> You’re quite welcome.</p> |
| <p>Q: You were very patient with us and I know that’s not your strong suit.</p> |
| <p><strong>Joanne Bland:</strong> It sure isn’t.</p> |
| <p>Q: You were very kind.</p> |
| <p><CREW talk> </p> |
| <p>#### End of CD 12B ####</p> |
| <p>Ref#: NPSSM-34 National Parks Service / (SEMO 02-051 page PAGE 1 of NUMPAGES 1</p> |
| <p> Joanne Bland / CD 12B</p> |
| <p>National Parks Service DATE \@ "M/d/yy" 6/21/04 Page PAGE 1 of NUMPAGES 1</p> |
| <p>RF# NPSSM-34 www.ProductionTranscripts.com – 888-349-3022</p> |
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