Ciara Benham
Staff Writer
cbenham@murraystate.edu
In March, freshman Azzie Cunningham marched with more than 40 members of Congress for the Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage. Cunningham joined civil rights activists including the now late Rep. John Lewis, Ruby Bridges and Brian Stevenson, lawyer and renowned author of the book “Just Mercy,” in Alabama for the event.
Hailing from North Carolina, Cunningham is a double major in visual arts and political science. Her choice of political science was shaped by her family’s involvement in politics, including her uncle, U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham and her grandfather, retired Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham.
Cunningham said her family has always pushed her to learn about black history. Her familial influences combined with her political enthusiasm is what led her to the pilgrimage.
“Being biracial, my father who is white has always encouraged my brothers and I to know and indulge in our people’s history in this country,” Cunningham said. “Especially since I am a Jamican American. My uncle learned of my passion and thought it would be an amazing experience for me to attend the pilgrimage with him, as it was his first year attending as well.”
Cunningham flew from Washington D.C.with her uncle and other members of Congress. As she boarded the plane, she first saw the famous civil rights activist John Lewis.
“I saw THE John Lewis in the very front row, and we made eye contact,” Cunningham said. “My heart sank to my stomach, my face got bright red and the worst part was… Jon Lewis and Brian Stevenson noticed this and found it fairly comedic. They both let out a couple of chuckles as I stuttered a ‘Hello, Mr. John Lewis,’ and he said to me ‘Hello, Azzie,’ and laughed. I went back to my seat absolutely flabbergasted that he knew my name. Then I realized I had a name tag on.”
This was a moment that Cunningham said she wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. She said seeing someone like John still fighting for the African American community was a life-changing experience.
Even though she only talked to him once she felt different and ever since that trip her whole perspective has changed and so has her life motto.
The pilgrimage began on March 6 with a convention held in a hotel in Montgomery, Alabama. In this hotel, Cunningham first met Ruby Bridges, the first African American child to attend an all-white school.
Cunningham ate breakfast and shared laughs for two mornings with a woman wearing the name tag “Ruby Bridges Hall.” It wasn’t until Ruby Bridges gave a speech at the convention that Cunningham realized she had been speaking with the historical activist all along.
“The woman with whomst I had become acquaintances stood up and the room roared in applause,” Cunningham said. “My jaw dropped nearly landing in my grits! ‘You buffoon, you have been talking and eating breakfast and dinner with Ruby Bridges for the last two days and didn’t notice.’”
The pilgrimage stopped at many places, some of them Cunningham had no idea existed.
“Which goes to show you can never learn too much about African American history,” Cunnigham said.
They stopped at the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, where no cameras or video recorders were allowed inside.
“This museum like the others was so silent you could hear a pin drop,” Cunningham said. “Many of us left this museum in tears.”
She said the pilgrimage then went to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. This memorial was built to remember and honor victims of lynching.
“This memorial was one of the most emotional sites to visit due to us having to walk and read not even every name of the lynching victims in this country, in every state,” Cunningham said. “To read the names of the victims was difficult and my eyes were glossy from the moment I walked through the memorial entrance to the exit.”
Finally, the pilgrimage stopped at three different churches that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at, including the 16th Street Baptist church where four young black girls were killed in a white supremacist bombing.
On the last day, they marched across the Pettus Edmundson Bridge and Cunningham witnessed John Lewis speak and march on that bridge for his very last time.
Although Cunningham knows not everyone can attend a civil rights pilgrimage, she encouraged students to do everything in their power to get involved.
“Voting is a big thing, a very big thing that I believe is a very evident way to have an effect,” Cunningham said. “Social media is another huge way. Please do not let what’s happening turn into some sort of social media trend. Black lives are not just a hashtag nor a fad. Spread the word, take advantage of all your social platforms, promote change and push others to pay attention.”
If Cunningham’s uncle is still in Congress, she plans to attend the pilgrimage again next year as well. If anyone is interested in joining the pilgrimage, the Faith in Politics Institute offers scholarships to help young men and women attend.