Sojourn to the Past is a non-profit organization that has, since 1999, taken thousands of students to date out of the classroom and across the country for a life-changing educational experience via hands-on lessons on the Civil Rights Movement. The inspirational program has empowered thousands of high school students nationwide by bringing to life the injustices that are so often buried in our country’s past. The transformative process integrates education and experience in lessons of acceptance, social justice and standing up for the rights of all humans to an audience of impressionable youth. In 1999 Sojourn to the Past was founded by Jeff Steinberg, recipient of the Jefferson Award and US Senator Barbara Boxer’s Excellence in Education Award, to motivate 11th and 12th grade students into a new generation of leaders.

Through a highly emotional and eye opening ten-day journey to a period of segregation in the Deep South, students learn the history behind racism in the United States and reflect upon their ability to embrace diversity and become an active advocate for social justice. Through the lives of civil rights foot soldiers that were taken through the movement and those of surviving movement veterans, participants learn to view society differently. Sojourners are challenged to reach within themselves to define the values that drive them and to defend the principles of equality and justice – a deep and personal inquiry that rarely happens in a classroom. Click here to read what other students have said about the trip or connect with other students online through: Click here to download an overview of Sojourn that you can share with your parent or guardian.