Day 22 - Rachel

We began today with visiting the Loraine Hotel in Memphis Tennessee. The Hotel is current a museum/ memorial for Dr. Martin Luther King because it was the place of his death. First, we watched a movie about King’s uprising in the civil rights movement and afterwards we got a chance to speak with good friend Rev. Billy Kyles. Rev. Kyles was present at the Loraine hotel with Dr.King when he was shot and killed. Kyles was an excellent speaker and gave inspiration to keep pushing forward and take advantage of the way that has been paved for us through Dr.King’s work. Afterwards we received a chance to visit the rest of the museum. The hotel contained information about the progression of African American History from 1664 till Dr.Kings death. There was a section hotel that was made into an exact replica of what Dr. King’s hotel room looked like that night he was killed. That was an extremely empowering to see because it let you actually feel the history happening. Later we had our last speaker, Mr. Harry Samuels who wrote a spectacular book with over 200 short stories about fate, destiny, and synchronicity. His book contained stories about meaningful coincidences that have benefitted others lives. He was extremely interesting and a fantastic way to end our trip!

Day 21 - Brandon

On day 21 we began our day meeting a woman by the name of Sybil Jackson Hampton. She was one of the few black students to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock. She and four other class mates went to the school after the famous Little Rock 9, and we learned they had a very different experience than the Little Rock 9. The Little Rock 9 was verbally abused and the 5 that went with her were just shunned by everyone. Our next stop was at the Clinton Library. We all learned that Bill’s original last name was Blithe and changed it to Clinton because his step father’s last name was Clinton and Bill admired him so much that he took his name. Also his presidential platform was to change our nation’s international face. For lunch we went to River Market and all ate at different places. I had two pizzas and a slushie (if you were curious). Our last stop of the day was at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center where we learned about the 9th street business market where there were all stores owned by blacks.

Day 20 - Kendall

On Day 20 of the Cultural Leadership Class 6 journey, we departed Tallahatchie flats. Staying in the old sharecropping cabin was a unique experience, although many of my classmates and I have mosquito bites as small souvenirs from our stay. After a quick breakfast we met with the Cleveland Youth Council and Margaret Block-- a civil right activist and singer/poet. Here we did several fun “ice breakers” to get to know each member of the Cleveland Youth Council and were able to mingle. Also, Ms. Block led us in a few Freedom Songs, which are a rich part of Black Culture and the Civil Rights Movement. We also met with the Little Rock Nine Leadership Group for discussion and a pizza dinner. Having the opportunity to create new allies and reach out to other students became a theme of Day 20. Much of our time was spent talking with other students about problems we see in our communities and how we both as members of our respective groups and as individuals can make a difference.

Day 19 - Jarvis

Yesterday was a interesting day for all of us. Everyone had Tallahatchie Flats, the place of shelter for the night. The wakeup call was for 7:30 and we had to be on the bus by 8:30. I believe everyone made it. Then we were off to church. It was a small Methodist church with a big voice. Everyone was welcoming and the sermon was well received. We had lunch at the church and it was like thanksgiving dinner. After lunch we traveled on a guided tour of greenwood, Mississippi that was greatly needed because most of us never toured a rural area before. After the tour we dined at a historic restaurant and had numerous of speakers from around town. My favorite of those was the city councilman because he agreed to help cultural leadership place a historic marker in front of the store where Emit Till supposedly whistled at a white women. The day concluded with beautiful Tallahatchie Flats, which was an old sharecropper’s home. It was nice quiet and to stars and moon was vivid. I don’t know about everyone else but I enjoyed my stay.

An Insight From Jake

There have been times on this trip that I’ve wanted to go home. It’s not easy to leave home for 23 days and embark on this kind of journey. A lot of these speakers bring up the same issues and it feels like we’re learning the same lessons over and over again. Living with no privacy for 23 days inevitably results in frequent arguments and “storms.” People have said things they shouldn’t have said, myself included. I have learned from this trip to watch what I say and choose my words more carefully. I have learned not to judge people, rather to accept and look for the good in people. This is something I didn’t understand before Cultural Leadership. Behind all this madness, however, is reason. As I look through my notebook and at pictures, I’ve realized how much we’ve learned. Beyond the knowledge that we’ve gained, we have learned so much about ourselves. Learning about myself was the most important thing to me on this trip. So yes, it’s been hot, we’ve been jam-packed with speakers, and there has been arguments. This trip is not perfect. But behind all this madness is reason. As we near the end of our journey, I’m starting to realize how much we have learned. For me, maybe it just takes a little longer to sync in and realize how fortunate I am to be a part of this program. When I get home, there will be many things that I will miss about this entire experience. I am so glad I had this opportunity, and though I didn’t know what I was getting myself into—I would do it all over again in a second. Thank you.

Day 18 - DeVante

Today we were in Jackson, Mississippi. Being in this city was a little different from the rest because they were under a boil water order. With this you can’t drink the water or clean the dishes with the water because the water could possibly be contaminated. Sounds fun right…..NOT!!! The fact that we couldn’t use the water made it more difficult for staying at the hotels and also eating at restaurants for example when we went to IHOP we had to eat on plastic plates, forks, and spoons. Enough about that lets get to the wonderful speakers.

The first speaker was Danna Lad she has always been an advocate for civil rights, and also is a writer for the Jackson Free Press this newspaper publication deals with diversity whether it be with the staff, the readers, and the ownership. Something that struck me about Danna was the fact that she is so passionate about fighting for everyone to have equal rights especially young people since we as teenagers face ageism in our community.

The second speaker that we had the honor of meeting was Owen Brooks. Owen Brooks was a civil rights activist who moved from Boston, MA to Jackson, MI. Though Boston was supposed to be this integrated city were everyone was accepted it truly was not. Before moving to Jackson he was very involved in Civil Rights Movement in Boston. Unfortunately he was drafted in the U.S. Army, and fought in the Korea, but was discharged in 1953. What Mr. Brooks taught me was that it doesn’t matter what age you are you can still make a difference in your community.In conclusion these two speakers weren’t necessarily my favorite speakers they still gave me good key points on what to do as a teenager to make a difference.

Day 17 - Trevor

Day 17 started off with a seven o’clock wake up and a forty minute drive to Selma, Alabama. When we arrived in Selma we were taken to the Interpretive Center, this center revolves around the March in Selma for voting rights that many people in the Civil Rights Movement were involved in. At the center we watched a powerful movie about the incredible march and the people who were in this amazing feat.
As we drove deeper and deeper into Selma we came across the incredible Edmond Pettis Bridge, not far from the bridge we went to a moving museum about the incredible Civil Rights workers, our speaker told us of the many people who are never named. These are not the Martin Luther King’s, or the Rosa Park’s these are not people in history books. They all still have a story however; everyone involved in the movement has a story.

From this amazing museum we came to the peak of our day, the Slavery and Civil War Museum in Selma, Alabama is one of the greatest museums that I have ever been to. When we arrived in front of the museum we all heard a yell and the males were taken from the bus and then the females. When we were taken off of the bus we were then inspected. We were inspected because from that point on we would be truly entranced in the Middle passage and the slave trade. After being inspected we were sent inside the museum. We were sent into a pitch black room and locked in there for about 5 minutes. While standing there we began to hear screams followed by sniffles of fear from our classmates. Next we boarded the ship. That was my breaking point. Hot tears of fear and anger streamed down my face. I couldn’t understand why people were treated this way because of the color of their skin. As we went through the experiment I couldn’t help but imagine that the pain I am feeling now is not half of what the slaves who experienced these atrocities actually went through.
When we left the museum we drove to the infamous Edmond Pettis Bridge. We all know of the atrocities that happened here on Bloody Sunday decades ago. We were each paired up, an African American student with a Jewish one and we marched across the bridge arm and arm as Jeffrey sang a Freedom Song. As we walked I couldn’t help but think of all of those who had come before me and were beaten just for their right to vote. This was truly a powerful and moving moment for all of us.

The last thing of this very long and draining day was Mishkan Isreal, the only and oldest Jewish Synagogue in Selma, Alabama. Here we were told the story of the Southern Jews and the story of this famous Synagogue. Our speaker told us about the importance of this national monument in the Jewish community of Selma, Alabama. This Synagogues oldest member was eighty-nine years old and their youngest was fifty –nine. This means that this Synagogue will soon come to an end if they do not receive help. The Jewish community of Selma needs the help of as many people as they can get. We have to come together to make sure that this beautiful synagogue is not taken away from this amazing community.

This day was one the hardest days for me on this twenty three day journey. We experienced the life of slaves, walked the infamous bridge of Bloody Sunday, and went to a historic monument for the Jewish people in Selma, Alabama. Through all of this we came out stronger and better people, we can never experience the exact pain of what our ancestors went through. We