"Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that;
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia."
These words spoken by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. near the end of his famous "I Have a Dream" speech proved to be prophetic for the hundred Bay Area students traveling to Atlanta, Georgia, today.
Students arriving at San Francisco International Airport were greeted by the warm smiles of the Sojourn staff as they checked-in and received 3-ring-binders packed with most of their assignments and reading material. Although the group flight left before 6:30AM, there was no rest for the weary as Lead Teacher Jeff Steinberg immediately put their eager minds to work on their first assignment -- reading a story told by Minnijean Brown, one of the"Little Rock Nine," to LOOK Magazine for their June 24, 1958 issue.
Although it is the middle of Winter, many students did not expect the cold they encountered at they deplaned in Georgia... a chilly 40 degrees. They were not exposed to the elements for long, however, as the group gathered their bags (without losing a single one en route!) and boarded their luxury buses -- but not before meeting their charismatic drivers, Joseph & Jimmie.
During the drive to the group's hotel - the Marriott Atlanta Century Center - students were acquainted with most of the rules & procedures they will follow during the trip. These include check-in procedures, curfews, and the importance of wearing their name tags at all times. With those logistics out of the way, and once the students were checked into their rooms, they were ready to begin their Sojourn to the Past!
The first lesson detailed the 1963 March on Washington, which drew between a quarter-million and half-million people of various nationalities and religions to the Nation's capital, demanding equal Civil Rights for all citizens. Although this day is often remembered by Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech mentioned above, a host of other activists, celebrities, and politicians also spoke & made appearances in support of Civil Rights.
Day One's final activity brought the students to Stone Mountain outside of Atlanta, an 825-foot exposed granite dome with an enormous carving of Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis -- all prominent Confederate leaders during the Civil War. The Ku Klux Klan's second incarnation was born at the foot of the mountain, and to this day Stone Mountain remains a symbol of the Confederacy and what it stood for. Dr. King refers to Stone Mountain in the "I Have a Dream" speech as a symbol of the hatred and racial inequality alive in the South, and he uses it to indicate that freedom cannot be truly celebrated until it has reached the bleakest corners of the United States. This made it all the more powerful for the students to listen to Martin Luther King Jr.'s most famous speech while huddled at the base of the monument... because only when freedom rings in Georgia can all people sing "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
* note: photos from 2008 Trip 1 can be found in a separate photo gallery within the blog
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