LaGrange College Students Participate in Civil Rights Heritage Tour
College students, college faculty, church members, and clergy took part in the 2024 SCLC WOMEN Civil Rights Heritage Tour last month. This annual trip is a pilgrimage through locations important to the civil rights movement - following the footsteps of giants like Amelia Boynton Robinson, John Lewis, Dianne Nash, CT Vivian, Hosea Williams, James Orange, Evelyn and Joseph Lowery, Coretta and Martin Luther King Jr, Juanita and Ralph Abernathy, and countless others.
This tour is a perfect way to share the history of how voting rights were won and why it still matters. The North Georgia Conference granted funds to cover the participation of students and faculty from Clark Atlanta University, Young Harris College, and LaGrange College.
Special thanks to SCLC Women's Organization for Equality Now, Inc., Dr. Evelyn Lowery (founder), Al Vivian, Fulton County Sheriff's Office, and others who make this tour possible.
LaGrange College shared about the experience in a recent publication.
LaGrange College Students Take Part in Civil Rights Heritage Tour
LaGrange College students gained a new perspective on the importance of making their voice heard at the polls after taking part in the Civil Rights Heritage Tour March 2-3.
Taking part in the trip, organized by the SCLC WOMEN, was made possible through a grant from the North Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church. Seven LaGrange College students participated in the two-day event.
“The tour allowed our students to be able to learn not just from textbooks, but also through seeing the places and hearing the stories,” said the Rev. Ashley Jenkins. “What made this trip an amazing experience was that people who fought for civil rights and voting rights helped lead the trip. Our students were able to meet some of the history makers of the movement.”
During the trip, the LC group visited Alabama sites dedicated to individuals pivotal to the civil rights movement, including the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma, the Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery, and the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, where a bombing claimed the lives of four African American girls. Alvin Lewis, who was involved with the movement as a boy, spoke to students about the tragedy and the children’s march.
“Being able to engage and speak with people who actively participated in the events we read about in our history books was a humbling experience,” said freshman Kenneth Howard.
While in Alabama, the LC group also heard stories about Willie Lee Jackson, the Rev. James Orange and Viola Liuzzo, activists who gave their lives to the cause.
Students were surprised to learn that Liuzzo was white yet played an active role in the movement.
“She was a mother of five kids who drove from Michigan to Alabama to be part of the cause,” said sophomore Bryant Hubbert. “She transported protestors who couldn’t walk or might be harmed from Selma to Montgomery in this march. Through her actions, she wanted to get the message across that all people are created equal.”
On the last day of the tour, the students walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the site of Bloody Sunday, a tragic event in Selma, Alabama, that killed and injured peaceful protestors marching to Montgomery in 1965.
While at the bridge, students heard Vice President Kamala Harris give remarks commemorating the 59th anniversary of the event.
Sophomores Jaylan Harris and Madison Powell shared how their experiences on the tour have ignited a spark in them to act on their civic duty of voting.
“I was motivated to be more involved in what is going on in politics after hearing this quote: ‘Voting is the most powerful nonviolent movement that we have,’” Harris said. “This tour showed me that these people sacrificed a lot just to fight for the rights for us to take part in the electoral process.”
“The activists who came before us to advocate for voting rights were not afforded the same opportunities we have at the polls,” Powell said. “We can honor these champions for change by casting our ballot and spreading the word.”
To register to vote, visit the Georgia Secretary of State’s website.