The drive to Atlanta from Charlotte this morning was very pleasant--great weather and very little traffic. My plan was to arrive at the DoubleTree Hotel in Buckhead about 45 minutes prior to the first session. I forgot, however, that my destination was Atlanta, with all the traffic snafus involved. I missed my exit and took the scenic route from the downtown area, back up Peachtree Rd. to the hotel, and arrived at the conference site with about 30 seconds to spare.
The early session was a "get acquainted" opportunity. The 50 participants had an opportunity to introduce ourselves to those in the room. As I imagined, there were many connections to the University of Virginia, but several, like me, had no link at all. The common thread throughout the room was diversity: we represent a broad range of experiences (life, work, region, age cohort--youngest in the 20s, oldest in the 80s), some are academics (teaching college and high school), some were traveling with family members (parent-child, siblings, spouses). All share a passion for The Movement and lifelong learning.
Professor Bond provided an initial lecture that, I feel, will be reflective of the schedule that the group will keep for the next several days. The topic "The World of Martin Luther King, Jr." that outlined the historical precursors that set the stage for the modern-day Civil Rights Movement was well-organized, informative, delivered at an insanely rapid pace, and inspiring.
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