BALTIMORE CIVIL RIGHTS TRIP

January 2023

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2023

Little Rock Central High School

Talking to Ranger Randy

What a tremendous honor it was to meet Dr. Sybil Jordan Hampton! She reminds us, "This progress that we take for granted is not promised."

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2023

In Rosedale, Mississippi, we had the honor of meeting the amazing Freedom Fellows at the Rosedale Freedom Project. Learn about their work here.

At Medgar Evers's house in Jackson, Mississippi.

At the Bryan Grocery Store in Money, Mississippi.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2023

In Birmingham, Alabama, we had lunch with businessman and Children's March participant Richard Finley; chelf Kimberly McNair Brock; documentarian T. Marie King, and journalist Sherrel Stewart. Learn more about T. Marie King's documentary about Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth here.

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2023

Today, it was 65 degrees in Montgomery, Alabama. We walked all over Alabama's capital, visiting The Legacy Museum, The Rosa Parks Museum, The Memorial for Peace and Justice, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, The Historic Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station, and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

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Taking a snack break outside of the Rosa Parks Museum.

The Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montogomery, Alabama.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2023

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birth Home in Sweet Auburn

Lunch Counter Sit-in Simulation

National Center for Civil and Human Rights

We asked students, "As you reflect on our time in Atlanta, consider this interpretation of ‘history’ given by Dr. Calinda Lee, a present-day political activist and community organizer in Atlanta: 'history ascribed meaning to what happened in the past… it is not THE past. History is most society’s greatest form of propaganda.' What do you think she means by this? how do the museums and monuments we witnessed today frame and employ history (as something ongoing, perhaps, or as something placed firmly in the past)?"

I think she means that the way in which history is told, defines how we remember it, and is especially formative in how we learn from the past. The events that are erased from history, and the people’s whose stories aren’t shared, can no longer have an impact if the education system doesn’t share them. The Legacy Museum frames history as something that society needs to learn from and be affected by, in order to be inspired to make a change.-Alana
I think this quote is saying that what happened in the past is the past and we are not in the past. Walking through the museum today there was a quote I heard while listening to a movie, “you have yo recognize the past and move forward.” The monument where we saw MLK grave was inspirational, just being where his grave was on his birthday was something I will never forget.-Ben

I am currently taking a US history class in my school and I find it very interesting to compare and contrast the way I am learning information in school vs how museums present the same information. I really enjoyed the second museum (National Center for Human and Civil Rights) because of its interactive aspects that really help me better understand things as I have a hard time learning behind a desk (with my dyslexia).-Julian

When I hear the word propaganda, I immediately think of my history class last year where we had a unit on that topic. I think that quote about how history is propaganda is exactly how you can explain history in terms of schools and most museums. The history we hear is not always the way it happened. It’s explained in the way that the people in charge want it to be explained. I think museums and monuments such as the ones we go on this trip is super important to attend and acknowledge because most explain the fullll history, which is needed to fully understand what has happened in history.-Will

I think this quote means that history is an ongoing phenomenon. Every one of us is living through history every second that passes. It’s how we view history and how it impacts us that illustrates the path forward. If we don’t recognize our history, we can’t learn from it. I think museums and monuments describe history from different points of view. Some museums illustrate the history from those affected by it and other museums use one sided stories to show another point of view.-Naomi

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2023

After learning about the A&T Four sit-in , we asked students to consider similar direct action protests that they've witnessed recently.

An example of direct action that I’ve seen recently are non-violent protests and marches for black lives matter and against harmful abortion laws. You can disrupt the status quo by doing not what is currently seen as right, but by doing what is truly right. If you do what you know is right, people will take notice and begin to understand and see errors in the system.--Noah
Whether or not you agree with their methods, climate activists are following a similar line of direct protest with actions such as their throwing soup onto paintings. This reminds me of the Greensboro sit-ins because both are demonstrating their discontent with the system through a shock factor. I think you can disrupt the status quo in the name of making something right by simply spreading awareness that you think something is unjust, and hopefully raising support through your actions.--Alana
In the status quo I’ve seen issues with accepting the lgbtq community. I feel as though you shouldn’t get discriminated against because of who you like or what you to prefer to go by. To make a change I can boycott and not eat at the places who don’t support lgbtq. I can get others to follow and lead with me. I can make a change by just believing and fighting for what i think is right.--Laniyah
I've seen many methods of activism in the past couple of years regarding different issues. Some of the methods of activism that I’ve participated in and have seen changes in are marches, walk outs, and demonstrations or protests outside of the Capitol. I’ve noticed that the more people who show up to these events, the better the result or turn out is. If enough people see the demonstration, the more people will see that there is a societal issue that needs to be changed. Speaking up is also something that is very important in today’s society. We all must speak up against the negative stereotypes. Overall, if we all join together and fight for issues that impact our lives, the more of a change we will see.--Naomi
When thinking about ways people disrupt the states quo in recent times, one example that comes to is climate activists throwing soup onto famous paintings to help gain media attention for their message. Ive seen disruption of the status quo mostly on climate activism. Ways I can disrupt the status is by standing agains’t something I believe is wrong in such a way that is brings awareness or enforces change.--Pablo
The A&T Four used a simple but powerful method of direct action that changed the course of history. Today, a similar form of direct action is seen in Iran, as women are cutting their hair and burning their headscarves in protest to combat the oppressive regime they live under. Though both actions appear uncomplicated, they both have and had drastic effects on their societies, creating conflict for the hopeful betterment of their lives.--Sarai
One example that I am thinking of are the climate change protests championed by Greta Thunberg. She began in a similar situation as the Greensboro 4; as a young person wanting to create change but being in a position of little power. However, by taking a courageous step forward, she has begun a movement that has spread across the world. Her actions have inspired and encouraged others to create change and be a part of movements they care about. Although Greta’s is the name we hear the most about, the movement could not have happened without the involvement of countless other young people, which is another parallel to the movement started by the A&T four.--Leila
A recent example of civil disobedience is the protests in favor of defunding the police. The slogan "defund the police" became popular following the racially motivated death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer. The idea of the movement is to transfer some police funding to other forms of public safety, such as health care and education. People believe the police hold too much power and abuse it too often, which can clearly be seen in the death of George Floyd. I believe that the best way to disrupt the status quo is to get yourself educated. Ignoring society's injustices only causes more ignorance and sparks less change. As students, we need to stay critical and be the voice of reason.--Delia

I’ve seen similar work done within my school over the years. Some students had a very difficult time with a teacher who constantly lost assignments, and would just be very rude. So the students took the initiative to go to our administrator, but they were ignored, and instead of giving up, they went almost every day to the admin's office until a solution to the problem was proposed.--Aniyah
Every year on Trayvon Martin Day. It’s a thing where kids in public schools wear a hoodie all day in school for Trayvon and refuse to take it off as an honor to him. Some may be sent to the office because we’re not allowed to wear our hoodies. We were taking direct action on something we cared about and seeing how many people would participate. Also, at our school last year we did a walkout at school to get justice for this one girl and other girls who were taken advantage of and ignored by BCPSS and our school.--Kalia
I have seen direct action recently in the overturning of Roe when I went to rallies working to prevent the overturning. The most impactful part of those rallies was just listening to people’s stories and learning about what really happens when it is overturned. Specifically I almost attended a protest in DC until my family realized we couldn’t because they were expecting arrests and it was unsafe for minors. A lot of times I think of mass protests where people are getting arrested to be ones that start out peaceful and then turn violent, and happen much less often than they did during the Civil Rights Movement, so realizing that these women were going into this protest expecting to be arrested was crazy to me because I forget that the causes we are fighting for today are worth losing your livelihood over, and we haven’t come as far as we think we have. The only way I know how to continuing disrupting the status quo is by standing up for what I believe in and continuing to go to protests.--Maya

An example of direct change I see currently are the employee walk-outs happening around the country. Employees everywhere are protesting against the terrible conditions people are subjected to. This is similar to the four A&T boys who sat in order to change the conditions black people were facing in the south. Instead of sitting in, the employees are walking out causing a mental shift about workplace conditions in people’s minds. --DeAsia
One example of protest I can think of is in my school all the time. Students are taught to advocate for themselves, when they see something they disagree with they speak out against it. It helps empower our community and bond with each other while also making active change towards the things we value.--Isabel
One person who I’ve seen take direct action in recent years is Greta Thunberg. She began standing outside the Swedish parliament with her sign, and stopped going to school on fridays. She was 15 years old. Then she began devoting her life to her activism work. She started a whole movement of climate change awareness and activism, and I know she has impacted me in a big way. Sometimes it’s hard to fathom how she is keeping up and being persistent while so many politicians and people in power make it they’re objective to bring her down. They all want her quiet because of the millions and billions of dollars they would stop receiving if the oil companies stopped. She inspired me to help run a climate March in baltimore. And even if I start thinking that there’s no point in doing it or that I won’t make a difference, I think if Greta and remind myself to keep the motivation in my soul, because no person is too small to make a difference.--Rebekah
Something that i see almost every year is student led walk outs from my school. Students from different clubs at park such as the climate collective change or the students against guns club have formed protests that involve a community to make change. For each of these, nothing actually happens unless everyone is in it together. Just like the Greensboro Four, it may only start with an idea from a small group of students, but shockwaves can form when the community rally’s behind them.--Will

I think the key to the success of the A&T Four and the Civil Rights Movement in general is the recognition of the economic power of the oppressed. Even Woolworth expected POC customers to STILL PAY, just at a separate cash register and take their food to go. And, the management of Woolworth only integrated AFTER they realized that the protest worked, and they had lost too much buiness to continue to act unfairly.
It’s fighting back against a system of discrimination with its own principles: free market capitalism. When we chose to spend our dollars anywhere, we are endorsing that establishment’s owner’s and controller’s and viewpoint.
So therefore, any deliberate choice to control our money, the flow of our resources, either into a buiness we support (such as a minority owned or mission driven establishment) or away from one which values do not align with our world view and beliefs (such as a corporation which chooses to donate to certain causes or mistreat customers or employees) we are acting in protest.
We are using our dollars, our power, to peacefully impose our view on discount. And, as we saw with the A&T Four, the bus boycott, and countless other peaceful protests, if enough of us stand together, the establishment will have to stand down, or go out of business.-John

One protest of today that comes to mind is the #MeToo movement. This movement allows people to speak out against their sexual assault experiences through social media. It was originally started by black women to help marginalized groups to have the support system they want and need, but it has now spread to a much broader group of people.-Cate

One way I see people strive for change in our school community for example when we shared a guest speaker zina hits(sorry if that’s not how you spell it), but student from our body came to create a peaceful change. this made sure we think a lot about who comes to speak, and that we choose someone that is mindful of everyone’s opinions.Wyatt
A similar direct action I have seen school police accountability process that students are involved in, including me. I’ve seen this issue in different schools and they are important to me because I believe students should be taken seriously and listened to when it comes to harmful police officers.-Ma’Ryah
As I saw today, the A&T Four defied societal norms to progress towards a more just community. As seen in China, Chinese people have been experiencing harsh COVID precautions for the past three years through mass testing and nationwide quarantines. Although it is rare for Chinese citizens to publicly protest against their Communist Party leaders where direct action can result in harsh punishments, the citizens have decided to take a stand. People gather in public areas singing the national anthem, listening to speeches, and hold up blank sheets of paper to symbolize their unhappiness with the censorship. As seen in both of these situations, direct action is when people come together for a common purpose and hold a united front, even though it is not considered acceptable. Through togetherness, people create positive conflict that forces society to think about what is right.--Rebecca

We made it to Greensboro, North Carolina! The courage of the A&T Four surely left an impression on us. Here we are on the campus of North Carolina A&T University in front of the statue honoring Ezell Blair Jr., Franklin McCain, Joseph NcNeil, and David Richmond.

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