Red Carnations - Love and Sacrifice in the Civil Rights Movement

by Fance Hector-Henderson

Unbelievable!!! I never thought I would be standing in this huge center. The center was all about such an amazing King. Unlike an ordinary center, the King Center was all about the deep history of segregation, inequality and the true facts about how people worked to stop segregation. When I walked in I knew right away that Dr. Martin Luther King was going to be the highlight of the whole entire center. Not only were the historical facts provided but physical belongings were also there to give people a visual of what happened. For example, I would read a brief text about Dr. King doing a speech or a sit-in and what he wore that day would be alongside the text. Like most people, I had a moment within the center when I almost broke down in tears. The red carnations story that I read posted in a glass case about Coretta Scott and Martin Luther King was so deep and serious. You would not know how serious it was unless I re-told you the story. So here I go:

Every day Dr. King came home from work, he would bring his wife, Coretta Scott King, flowers that were alive. Dr. King was a hard working man who traveled a lot. One day he told his wife that he would be heading to the Lorraine Motel for a march in Memphis. When Dr. King got to the motel, he did something strange. He sent his wife flowers as usual, but what was not usual was the fact that the red carnations were fake for the first time. Corretta knew something was strange about this but she did not know exactly what. She said later that Martin gave her fake carnations because he they would have to last for a very long time. It seemed as if he knew his death was coming. He would be shot the next day.

Charles Sherrod shares and sings about his time in the Movement

by Randy Grosvenor

Jail vs. Bail was a term we learned from Mr. Charles Sherrod today. The Jail vs. Bail operation started when Mr. Sherrod was in prison in Rockville, North Carolina. He and some other activist went to jail for protesting and would not accept bail. Mr. Sherrod was a part of the SNCC (Student Non-Violence Coordinating Committee). SNCC was an organization that did organizing and held mass meetings in Albany, GA and other states. These meetings were to teach people how to protest. A lot of the time SNCC would maek freedom songs by remaking church songs and singing them while protesting.

Hearing about how Mr. Sherrod served hard time in the Rock Hill jail was inspiring because it showed how he stood up for what he felt was right and didn’t give up. For example, Mr. Sherrod and others from SNCC had to do hard labor digging up wet dirt and transferring it into a tall truck. I also liked the fact that they still protested in jail. In the hole they would sing freedom songs. They had to live off of bread and water. That is strength to me because they never gave up. I believe this was helpful because he gave great insight on how to stand up for what you believe is right.

Meeting Dr. Cleveland Sellers - President of Voorhees College

by Kneena George

Today we visited Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina and met with Dr. Cleveland Sellers. This was a great experience because I got to met with someone who had actually been involved with the Civil Rights Movement and who had worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He talked about how the people who were involved with the movement were all about being non-violent. They fought for what they believed in, but in a positive way. Many aspects of his life really got me thinking. He made me realize how people back in the day were really organized and how they were very close to each other - like family. He described how they were totally committed to supporting a cause and making a change. Today people are not that organized and it is hard to get them to come together. Dr. Sellers is a great person to be inspired by. He is humorous and very open minded. Overall the experience was great because I got to learn the real truth about the Civil Rights Movement.

The Role of Women in the Movement

by Kevin Emile

Cleveland Sellers made several things clear to our group when we visited Voorhees College. His most important point was that while you may see many male names at the top of the list of iconic figures in the Civil Rights Movement; females were the most relied on for several key reasons. Dr. Sellers made it known that females did a lot of organizing and made sure that everything went as it was supposed to. They also ran many meetings and the males relied on them to get things moving. It isn’t a coincidence that when you look at the history of Voorhees College, you will find that it was founded with 16 students in 1897 by a Black female who was only 23 years old. That gives you a clear example of how females shaped Black history and how that continued during the Civil Rights era. Dr Sellers taught us that the best organizing group is not the one with the most amount of people who are the most dedicated to the cause they are fighting for and who have the most heart. He told us that was how SNCC (the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) only had 300 members but they were committed to achieving their freedom no matter what the obstacle.

Learning from a current civil rights activist - Ms. Tufara Waller-Muhammad

by Randy Grosvenor

Today we did a lot of driving which was very tiring. We also met “Tuffy” (her nickname) in Tennessee. She talked to us about a lot of the events that were going on in Highlander. For example she talked to us about how Highlander got started and about its purpose. I enjoyed it because I found out things like how Rosa Parks attended a class at Highlander before she was arrested and started the bus boycott. I like the conversation a lot because a lot of what was said changed my point of view on a few things. I like the fact that she took the time to tell us about how it was for her growing up in Arkansas. In addition, I bleive that Tuffy is a good influence because she is an actual living proof of turning your life around. I think her story would help change people’s point of view because she’s been through a lot as she was growing up. She talked to us about popular education and participatory research. Popular education is when you use what people already know and bring your information to their level so that they can understand what you are trying to teach them about. Participatory research is when you go out and get information from people in the community. These things were important to me because they are part of the work that I am doing now. I feel like I got more educated on these things so that I can come back to Boston and educate other people on this. Tuffy taught me a lot of things in a short matter of time. That’s what made our time with her fun and easy.

Highlander - A Center for Justice in the Rocky Mountains!

by Fance Hector-Henderson

When you look into the Rocky Mountains and you see the view of the beautiful place by the name of Highlander, it might just give you an eye-popping moment. All the historical thinkgs that took place in a such a beautiful place is just unbelieveable. First when the van drove up to this place I was like – “What is going on. Why am I in the mountains.” Walking alongside the building the grass tickled my feet. When I arrived into the building I was greeted by a beautiful African-American female named Ms. Tufara and Mr. Ron. Mr. Ron explained how Highlander is now and how it was before. Ms. Tufara focused on her personal life and how it inspired her to want to work with youth at Highlander. Ms. Tufara’s experience touched me as a young African female and made me think – “Well hey, when you are determined you can make great progress.” The way Ms. Tufara spoke made me look up to her as a true role model. I really enjoyed the view and the discussion. I was impressed that people kept Highlander going even after the place was burned down by people who didn’t want the races to be able to meet together. I definitely encourage all my readers to visit the place and enjoy the information as I did.

Visiting Harper's Ferry

by Sharon Lewis

August 19th, 2008 was a life changing experience for me and our group. We visited Harper's Ferry in West Virginia where John Brown and 21 of his followers were on a quest to end the harsh and brutal inequality of Black slaves. Being in the actual place where he was hung was frightening but yet uplifting. It felt good to know that somebody, surprisingly a a white abolitionist, risked his life for others that were not the same color as him. Being in Harper's Ferry taking in the sites and talking to a tour guide about he events in depth was very overwhelming. But it was also helpful to know that there was an effort to change mankind. Overall, the trip to Harper's Ferry was interesting and instpirational. It taught me that if you believe something is right then you can make a difference regardless of the color of your skin.