Today, Sojourn to the Past was honored to be featured in the same media outlet and by the same reporter who has brought truth to the surface of countless civil rights cases. Jerry Mitchell, who is one of the speakers on the Sojourn journey, has dedicated his life and career to uncovering the truth and today we were humbled by his words and praises on his ‘Journey to Justice’ blog on the Clarion Ledger’s website. If you would like to read the blog, click on the image below.

Fifty-five years after the Supreme Court ruled that all of America’s children are entitled to an equal education, the nation’s most vulnerable — minority children and children from low income families — are still sometimes subject to a substandard educational system.

Troubled that millions of students are left behind because they don’t have access to the resources required for a high quality education, Congressman Chaka Fattah (from Pennsylvania) has introduced the Student Bill of Rights to address the inadequacies and inequities in educational opportunity. “America is the land of opportunity,” Fattah said. “It is a national scandal to deprive poor children of a decent education simply because they live in a certain neighborhood.”

The Student Bill of Rights is similar to legislation previously introduced by Fattah and calls for states to provide highly effective teachers, early childhood education, college prep curricula and equitable instructional resources to all students who attend public schools. Current law requires that schools within the same district provide comparable educational services; this bill would extend that basic protection to the state level by requiring comparability across school districts.

What can you do to help? If you also believe in equal rights for students, speak out and make your voice heard! Write to your local government officials and let them know that you, too, would like to see ample opportunities for education across the country.

Civil rights leader Myrlie Evers-Williams is perhaps best remembered as the widow of Medgar Evers, the Mississippi state field secretary for the NAACP who in 1963 was gunned down in the driveway of his home in Jackson. In the years since the assassination and two hung juries that left the accused gunman, white supremacist Byron De la Beckwith, a free man, Mrs. Evers has continued to wage a lonely war to keep her husband’s memory and dreams alive and to bring his killer to justice. Her diligence eventually paid off when Beckwith was brought to trial for a third time and finally, in 1994, found guilty of the murder of Medgar Evers, more than 30 years after the crime.

Ms. Evers-Williams is a phenomenal woman of great strength and courage. Her dedication to civil rights and equality is exemplified by her activist role, linking together business, government, and social issues to further human rights and equality. On February 18, 1995, she was elected to the position of Chairman of the National Board of Directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). With the support of a strong member base of the NAACP, she is credited with spearheading the operations that restored the Association to its original status as the premier civil rights organization.

Evers-Williams says that she “greets today and the future with open arms.” This credo has carried her through years of struggle and success. Her children and six grandchildren remain her strongest supporters in her continued fight to secure equal rights for all people, and to preserve those rights for future generations.

We feel both proud and grateful to have someone such as Ms. Evers-Williams practicing Sojourn Living and fighting for equal rights for all.

The Medgar Evers Memorial: University, MS

Medgar Evers, a Mississippi native, is memorialized at the Lamar Law Center of the University of Mississippi. Evers was instumental to the desegregation of the Mississippi education system. In addition to fighting for his own admission to the school of law, Evers was a key figure in the eventual admission of the first black student, James Meredith, into Ole Miss. Shortly after he made his investigations of the murder of Emmett Till and the Clyde Kennard conviction public, this NAACP lawyer was assassinated in front of his home. He has since been commemorated musically and the 1996 film Ghosts of Mississippi.

Evers is also remembered for his pride in Mississippi. He said, “I love the land of my birth. I do not mean just America as a country, but Mississippi, the state in which I was born. The things that I say…will be said to you in hopes of the future when … we will not have to hang our heads in shame or hold our breath when the name Mississippi is mentioned, fearing the worst. But instead, we will be anticipating the best.”

Sojourners visit the Medgar Evers memorial during the trips to learn about and to honor a man who was determined to fight for equality, both in his local community and for future generations of Americans.