Learning about those who fought and fight for civil rights never ends.
That is the takeaway for students from Florida International University who traveled to Montgomery, Alabama to immerse themselves in the heart of the movement.
I want to celebrate FIU for being ahead of the game in education. The 60 bus riders from FIU received accolades from Montgomery officials for being the first to travel, for education purposes, to the Camellia Bowl; the Golden Panthers football team was one of the teams playing in Camellia Bowl.
Consider the other firsts: some FIU students had never been in Alabama, let alone spent time in Montgomery. The key destinations they visited included the Rosa Parks Museum, home to the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement”, and the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church where Martin Luther King served as pastor for six years. Unfortunately, FIU lost to the Arkansas State Red Wolves, 34-26, but the life-long memories from the hands-on learning
more than made up for the short-term sting of the football defeat.
In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a City bus to a white man, which spurred a bus boycott of more than a year in Montgomery. Planning for that boycott took place at the aforementioned Dexter Avenue church, home to Dr. King, Jr., whose “I Have A Dream” speech was read during the tour.
Students also visited the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum, where blacks were enslaved. The storytelling conveyed the legacy of slavery and the continued legacy of Jim Crow laws on our nation.
Kuntrell Jackson, who spoke at Equal Justice Initiative’s Community Center, explained how at age 14 received a sentence of life without parole. With the help of the Equal Justice project, he was able to change his sentence.
Others were not as fortunate. Those who were victims of lynching across America, previously anonymous were remembered at the Memorial for Peace & Justice. Kudos to FIU for making such a trip possible. University President Mark Rosenberg gave credit to several people including Dr. Elizabeth Bejar, Dr. Bridgette Cram, Jose Toscano, Steven J. Green, and Saif Ishoof.
Walking in the shoes of the founding mothers and fathers of the civil rights is a transformative experience that can inspire a new generation of leaders and activists. To quote Junior Japeth Kariuki-Ebanks: “The biggest reason this fellowship opportunity speaks to me as a black-American is that I get to more fully appreciate the work civil rights leaders have done to advocate for the freedoms I personally enjoy today.”
As FIU alumni, my brother, Michael, and I want to thank FIU for their out-of-the-box thinking.
