I am fascinated with history. As an African-American studies minor at N.C. State University, my coursework focused on civil rights history and its leaders, student protest movements, the Middle Passage, and the Reconstruction era.
During spring break, I had the opportunity to spend ten days with a group of talented, thoughtful students and staff on a journey to Selma, Alabama, to learn more about history by visiting civil and human rights museums, parks, churches, and restaurants.
I’ll mention just a few takeaways from the trip.
There is a gap between what students learn in school and what they learn on their own. Many of our students shared that they did not know as much as they wished they had about key figures, such as Frederick Douglass, Emmett Till, and Harriet Tubman. Many of these students had been strongly discouraged to visit the south due to its tainted history; however, much of the richness of civil rights history is in the South.
The opportunity to gather during a meal still serves as a prime opportunity to engage in thoughtful discourse. As seen in the movie Selma, meals at civil rights leaders’ homes and strategic restaurants presented an opportunity to tackle pressing issues of the time. We visited Ben’s Chili Bowl (Washington, DC), the Four Way restaurant in Memphis, Pascal’s in Atlanta, and Lannie’s BBQ in Selma. Hearing the history of Ben’s Chili Bowl from founder and owner Virginia Ali was a highlight of the trip for many of us.
Young people have always played a key role in movements. Young people sat at counters and sometimes faced life-threatening violence to desegregate restaurants in the South, led marches in the streets of Selma to stand against injustice, and sacrificed their mental and physical health to integrate schools in Little Rock. Listening to the director of the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute describe his training to march in the streets of Selma when he was twelve years old was another highlight.
Our students chronicled many of their highlights in a blog, and I invite you to read their experiences on the Northfield to Selma blog.
Enjoy the warm weather. Spring is here.
Carolyn H. Livingston
