Experiential learning trip follows Freedom Riders' path through Alabama and Georgia
JMU News
SUMMARY: JMU students and staff members explored a pivotal moment in history following the path of the Freedom Riders of the 1960s through Alabama and Georgia and gained a new appreciation for the power of active citizenship.
From the June 2016 digital issue of Madison.
For 36 JMU students and staff members, an experiential learning trip following the Freedom Riders of the 1960s through Alabama and Georgia was an opportunity to explore a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement and gain an appreciation of the courage and commitment necessary to effect positive social change.
Sponsored by JMU’s Center for Multicultural Student Services, the tour included stops at Brown Chapel AME Church, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the Rosa Parks Library and Museum, and Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, as well as the Civil Rights Memorial, the Equal Justice Initiative and The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.
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“To touch that history and to walk through it, and to meet people who were part of it and are dedicating their lives to sharing it and teaching it, really allowed me to see that I’m not just reading about this history, that I am in fact a part of it.” — Taleia Barksdale (’17) |
Participants were encouraged to immerse themselves in the experience, to spend time with the presenters and the exhibits, and to reflect on what they learned. They agreed that open communication can lead to increased cultural awareness and self-understanding.
Photos and video by Buddy Harlow ('18)
