Seniors close out academic year with annual visit to three branches of state government
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Students at the Alabama Capitol. Photo submitted
The Alabama Supreme Court
The Alabama Senate
The seniors started off their day with a tour of the state capitol led by their instructor. Students toured the former Supreme Court chamber and former House and Senate chambers that used to operate in the Alabama State Capitol, as well as the executive offices, including the governor’s office, which still operates in the capitol.
Students also learned about the historic significance of the capitol in the founding of the Confederate States of America, as well as the conclusion of the Selma to Montgomery March at the capitol in which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave the speech “How Long, Not Long.”
Students also admired the architecture of the capitol, in particular the cantilever double spiral staircase built by a former slave, Horace King, who would go on to become one of the first Black Alabama legislators.
The seniors then made their way down Dexter Avenue, stopping to view Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, a landmark church in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, as well as the former Alabama Supreme Court building now encased in glass.
The next stop was at the Alabama Judicial Building. The students had a great docent who led them through the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals and the Alabama Supreme Court, as well as the oldest law library in the state. Students also admired the neoclassical architecture which pays homage
to democratic traditions in ancient Greece and Rome and the white marble at the center of the building which came from the quarry located just outside of Coosa County.
After lunch, the seniors made their way back up Dexter Avenue to the State House. The students also had a wonderful guide at the State House, which included a visit to a committee room, as well as both the Senate and House galleries.
Students completed a memory book, including sketches of their visit along the way to help them remember this special trip culminating their senior government course in high school.
