Vision/Mission
OUR VISION
Sojourn’s vision is to inspire high school students, across America, to become engaged citizens and community leaders who promote social justice through nonviolence in their schools and in their lives.
OUR MISSION
Sojourn to the Past brings the historical Civil Rights Movement out of their school and into real life for 11th and 12th grade students, to develop communication and advocacy skills that better enable them to promote awareness of social justice, not just in their schools but in their community, and create a more civil society where diversity is embraced, injustice is spoken out against, and all people are treated with dignity.
Through innovative and experiential learning methods, Sojourn programs teach and empower students to become a new, creative, inspired generation of young and life-long community leaders.
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| Unforgetable lessons and friends
from the trip |
OPERATIONAL MISSION
We accomplish this important mission through:
In School Activities:
Providing unique in-school presentations about segments of U.S. history that are not taught in the classroom (reaching more than 70,000 high school students each year throughout the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Ohio, and New York).
Experiential Learning though Journeys to the South:
Students journey through the South to many significant sites where civil rights history was made (over 55 journeys and 5,000 students). They meet personally with veterans of the Civil Rights Movement who discuss their first-hand experiences as leaders and advocates for human rights.
Students are effortlessly inspired to learn the invaluable lessons of hope, forgiveness, and civic responsibility, and develop an understanding for the need of compassion, courage, and nonviolence. This is accomplished through engaging lessons, readings, documentaries, audio recordings, onsite experiences, and discussions with Civil Rights veterans.
Post-Journey Application & Follow-up:
Engagement in civil rights advocacy is fostered and maintained after student expeditions by harnessing their newfound fervor and leadership skills to create positive changes in their own local communities.




