Welcome to Sojourn to the Past

Sojourners pushed the chairs aside and sat in circles on the floor for today’s workshop led by Minnijean Brown-Trickey and Sojourn educator Ken Mason. The anti-racism theme extended to explore all forms of prejudice and how discrimination becomes institutionalized.

While Miss Minnijean and Mr. Mason led a thought provoking interactive lesson, the students were the real stars. By sharing their personal insight from personal experiences, students made connections to the Sojourn lessons and their lives today. Together Sojourners deeply explored the forces that shape today’s social, economic and political interactions and decisions.

When Sojourners arrived to Selma, Alabama, they headed out to the hotel’s back patio on the Alabama River to throw the peace sign. Click on the photo below to enlarge and see all their beautiful faces.

Photograph by Rebecca Lei

“Please don’t,” pleaded Clark Olsen when met by white supremacists ready to attack him and his friends, all ministers. From speakers Reverend Clark Olsen and Congressman John Lewis Sojourners learned about true nonviolence and its power.

Reverend Clark Olsen’s journey to Selma in 1965 began when he heard Dr. King’s appeal over the radio for clergy to join the efforts of Civil Rights activists in Alabama. King was calling for a peaceful protest in response to the chaos of the March 7th Bloody Sunday protest. Olsen’s desire to participate was immediate.

Once in Selma, Olsen joined other ministers who had come to town to support this cause. As he and some colleagues made their way to Brown Chapel the evening after the Bloody Sunday march, his friend, Reverend Reeb, was attacked and murdered before his eyes. Clark was also brutally beaten in the attack, and later had the courage to testify and point out the killers – an action that put his own life at risk.

Last month, Congressman John Lewis was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Obama, the highest award a civilian can receive. Sojourners have spent time preparing to meet John Lewis by reading his book Walking With the Wind enriching the time together even more as the Congressman now shared face-to-face his personal story.

Congressman John Lewis says, “Let the spirit of history be your guide.” With a guide such as Congressman Lewis, Sojourners are on the right path as tomorrow’s leaders. He tells students, “Make trouble, make GOOD trouble.”

Photographs by Isaiah Trickey. Click on photos to enlarge.

Closing the day’s lessons Mr. Steinberg asked students, “How many of you worked harder today than you have ever worked in school?” All hands went up.

Sojourners participated in over seven hours of lessons exploring in depth the Little Rock Nine and Robert Kennedy. Many students came up to share that they wanted more lessons and love learning what is not in their history books.

Minnijean Brown-Trickey, one of the Little Rock 9, the first nine African American students to desegregate schools in the country, was introduced to students standing in ovation, pounding their palms together, chanting “MINNI-JEAN!, MINNI-JEAN!”. Sojourners honored the privilege of meeting Minnijean by giving back and sharing how she inspires.

“You show that when people be themselves, we can do great things.” – Charnae, Jefferson High School

Photograph by Isaiah Trickey

Sojourners flew in from the San Francisco Bay Area; Youngstown, Ohio; Little Rock, Arkansas and Toronto, Canada to meet in the Atlanta airport and board buses to begin together an incredible journey of social justice and civil rights interactive education. From 15 different schools students worked for months fundraising and studying in preparation having decided that they needed to be a part of Sojourn to the Past.

After an engaging lesson on the March on Washington, Sojourners headed to Stone Mountain. Just as the southern dusk fell, Sojourners listened to Mr. Steinberg explain that they were sitting in one of the birthplaces of the Ku Klux Klan. They sat before Stone Mountain a.k.a. the Confederate Mount Rushmore that commemorates leaders of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Playing Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech students shared that they felt a place of hate turned into one of love as Dr. King’s words echoed against Stone Mountain.

Click on photos to enlarge. Photographs by Isaiah Trickey

When they returned to the hotel, Sojourners linked arms and sang the most famous song of the Civil Rights Movement, “We Shall Overcome”.

We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome someday
O, deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome someday

Students enjoyed an inspiring lesson on the Birmingham Children’s March. Sojourners described the children marchers as inspirational, tenacious, determined, rebellious, shocking, united, precocious, persistent, and courageous.

On September 15, 1963, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, was bombed in a terrorist attack by white racists opposed to integration. Students watched the Spike Lee documentary Four Little Girls titled in reference to the four 11 – 14 year old girls attending Sunday school that morning who were murdered. Sojourners then had the opportunity to meet with the McNair family including the only parents still alive of one of the four little girls, Denise McNair.

When a student asked whether or not Chris McNair had hatred for the men that killed his daughter, McNair responded that he tries to “keep everything on the love side” mentioning that “hatred only destroys the hater”.

Students began the day with a walking tour of Selma led by Joanne Bland,who marched on “Bloody Sunday” and “Turn Around Tuesday,” witnessing brutal beatings, shooting and hosing of fellow marchers by police. Only 11 years old, she has the distinction of being the youngest person to have been jailed in these demonstrations. Sojourners marched across the infamous Edmund Pettus Bridge and then boarded buses to Montgomery.

After a lesson on Emmett till, Students were very moved by meeting Simeon Wright. Emmett was a fourteen-year-old African American from Chicago who was brutally murdered in Money, Mississippi in 1955 for “wolf whistling” at a white woman. Simeon witnessed the incident, as well as Emmett’s late night abduction by the husband of the woman at which he had whistled. The abduction led to the brutal manslaughter of Emmett and Simeon recounts the story of his cousin’s death and legacy.

Alwin from Oceana High School told Simeon, “I am by the way you transferred your anger into positive energy and activism. It has taught me to go home and do the same thing with my life, and be productive with the powerful feelings I have.” Airi from Palo Alto Prep said that listening to Simeon’s story made her want to go home and do something that will help someone.

Before busing to Selma, students engaged with Sojourn educator Kenneth Mason in a workshop exploring institutionalized racism. Topics of discussion covered what it means to be “all-American”, the power of the media and how prejudice is hidden in modern society. Vanessa from Sequoia High School reflected, “A week ago I could tell you everything there is to know about Jersey Shore (a show on MTV). Now I can tell you everything about the lessons I have learned so far – Selma, Bloody Sunday, Clark Olsen, Medgar Evers, etc and I am proud of that.” Vanessa realized the important information that we should all be more aware of rather than many of the tv/media resources that dilute and don’t offer anything that will benefit our own life or the lives of others.

Here’s a shot of students participating in group discussions.

Photograph by Isaiah Trickey

One of our amazing Sojourners, Crystal from Inspire School of Arts and Sciences, wrote the following poem after meeting Clark Olsen.

A Gentle Soul

The man who blows kisses
to his children
and his people.
To do what’s right.
Go forward for righteousness
Who holds fading hands
With a heart of blood
not iron.
Righteousness for the gentleman.
The Gentle Man.
Dance and be the change.

Reverend Clark Olsen’s journey to Selma in 1965 began when he heard Dr. King’s appeal over the radio for clergy to join the efforts of Civil Rights activists in Alabama. King was calling for a peaceful protest in response to the chaos of the March 7th Bloody Sunday protest. Olsen’s desire to participate was immediate.

Once in Selma, Olsen joined other ministers who had come to town to support this cause. As he and some colleagues made their way to Brown Chapel the evening after the Bloody Sunday march, his friend, Reverend Reeb, was attacked and murdered before his eyes. Clark was also brutally beaten in the attack, and later had the courage to testify and point out the killers–an action that put his own life at risk.

Clark Olsen singing “We Shall Overcome” with Sojourners

Another student, Marcus from Oceana High School, told Reverend Olsen that he was moved by Olsen’s vulnerability – not in a weak way how the word can be perceived, but in a good way. Clark Olsen was able to show and share how he experienced fear, love, feeling, compassion, and Marcus was very impressed by Olsen’s vulnerability, and how his vulnerability enabled him to be a part of something larger than himself, and made him act courageously even when he didn’t realize that is how he was acting.

Today students also had the privilege to meet Congressman John Lewis who just a few days before was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Obama, the highest award a civilian can receive.  Sojourners continued the celebration by singing “Happy Birthday” to the Congressman and helpfully aided in eating the large cake lined by 71 candles.

Sojourners have spent time preparing to meet John Lewis by reading his book Walking With the Wind enriching the time together even more as the Congressman now shared face-to-face his personal story.  Jacob from Sequoia High School explained to Congressman Lewis that to him Congressman Lewis’ life completely embodies and represents all the principles of nonviolence. “You changed the country through with the strength of your integrity and love through nonviolence, and it is inspiring and proof that it’s a worthy life to lead.”

Congressman Lewis tells students to “Make good trouble”

Carlmont HS student Pearl added, “Listening to and meeting you [Congressman Lewis] makes me want to change.  Hearing your story and your efforts and the change you made makes me want to go home and be a better person for myself and for my  community.”

If you didn’t watch the video posted on February 15th, 2011 about Congressman John Lewis, you are missing something special.  Click HERE to jump to it.

Photographs by Isaiah Trickey

With a bit more sleep under their belts, Sojourners awoke in Atlanta to a fabulous Friday of engaging lessons and the inspiring Minnijean Brown Trickey. Mr. Steinberg and Sojourners explored the federal versus state reactions to the passing of Brown v. Board in 1954 leading up to the Little Rock Nine becoming the first students of color to desegregate high schools in America. Minnijean Brown Trickey was one of the Little Rock Nine in 1957 that integrated Little Rock Central High School. Look at the photos below of the students reaction to meeting this ordinary person that did and does extraordinary things.

Click photos to enlarge!

Photographs by Isaiah Trickey

February 17th marked the beginning of Sojourn’s first journey of 2011. Participants met in Atlanta from San Francisco, Chico, Los Angeles, New York and Boston.

After a lesson on the March on Washington and a dinner that we heard featured a delicious salad (don’t worry parents, students are eating their vegetables), Sojourners headed to Stone Mountain. Mr. Steinberg refers to Stone Mountain which features an engraving of leaders of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, as the “Confederate Mount Rushmore”. It is also one of the birthplaces of the Ku Klax Klan.

Here, students listen to a recording of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. One Sojourner, Juli, said that the moment reminded him of a quote by Dr. King.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Juli noted that by their presence this evening, listening to the great speech that they were demonstrating love in a place with a history of hatred.

Photographs by Isaiah Trickey