Students Take Civil Rights Pilgrimage

Civil Rights pilgrimage map

The U.S. Civil Rights Movement is an important piece of American history; one that is taught, explored and analyzed from kindergarten through high school. For some Bellevue College students however, the lessons are going beyond the classroom on what is becoming a bi-annual trip to visit the very locations where activists like Dr. Bernard Lafayette and Bob Zellner, the first white field secretary of the Student Nonviolence coordinating Committee, brought the Civil Rights movement to the national stage.

Political Science Professor Tim Jones, in collaboration with David Domke, professor and chair of the UW Department of Communication, have been taking their students on a Civil Rights Pilgrimage through Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas to gain a better sense of the era and people who helped shape a movement.

The trips include visits to numerous historically significant sites and museums, including the church where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his last speech, MLK’s house and the church in which he preached, attending mass and sharing lunch with parishioners at the church where most of the organizing took place for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, taking a slavery tour, which includes a slavery simulation, visiting Little Rock Central High School, which was desegregated in 1957, visiting the space where the three civil rights workers were killed during Freedom Summer in 1964, and visiting the Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden, among others.

However, the highlight of the pilgrimages for the students and faculty alike is getting to know the activists from the movement who are still alive and active today—people like Dr. Bernard Lafayette who was a Freedom Rider and who helped desegregate the lunch counters in Nashville, Tenn. Indeed, Jones and Domke have developed such a close relationship with Dr. Lafayette that he has twice come to the Puget Sound area to give talks and lead nonviolence trainings at BC and UW.

“Students (on the trip) gain an understanding of the nuances of the Civil Rights Movement, meet real ‘foot soldiers’ from the movement, and think deeply about social (in)justice and social change,” said Jones. “They are exposed to the real history of American civil rights, which has often been ugly, but they also learn about the organizing that brought about so much of the positive change that we take for granted today. I think the pilgrimage helps students hone their critical thinking and understanding, but also inspires them to be agents of change themselves.”

Pilgrimage participants
Pilgrimage participants take part in trust-building exercises.

Facing the Trip: Student’s Thoughts

Anna Brosius

“The biggest takeaway from the trip is that I can work to build my own beloved community. My beloved community is a world that is more compassionate and loving, and, like the Civil Rights leaders, I shouldn’t wait until that kind of world arrives. In striving to create that kind of world, I shouldn’t just do it through my activism and official endeavors, but also through my own personal actions, words, and relationships.”
~ Anna Brosius, fall 2014 BC graduate currently studying International Relations at George Washington University

 

Nick Burkowski“There were so many incredible moments on the trip, it’s challenging to narrow them down…One moment in particular that took my breath away was the end of our second walk across the Edmond Pettus Bridge in Selma. As we stood in a circle on the side of the road, with our hands held together, all I could see was love in my fellow pilgrims’ eyes. In that moment, I realized that we had created a small beloved community. And together we can work to spread the love and peace we have to everyone we encounter.”
~ Nick Burkowski, spring 2015 BC graduate in Sociology

 

“This trip was beyond words… I will never forget this experience, and I will always have 41 new family members to call on for support. The lessons we gathered will always be a part of my values and principles. The spiritual connection I have gained from this experience can never be replaced, and has strengthened my faith not only in God, but in people. I don’t know what the future holds for me, but I do know I want to be an agent for societal progress, and a father who teaches these values to the next generation.”
~ Brock Reynolds, currently pursuing a degree in Computer Programming at BC

 

Komalpreet Sahota“When we got to the 16th St. Baptist Church, I could feel the painful history of the place seep into me. I knew this place would be the most difficult for me but I did not realize how much. At first, the pain was numbing, I was hearing what was being said but it was like I would not allow myself to feel anything. But then we heard a first-hand account of the children’s marches, and the flood gates opened. The pain was physically torturing… I could not physically hold myself up. I began to break down emotionally when I saw the poem on the memorial to the four girls… They were children, they did not deserve to die the way they did. What happened to them affected me in such an intense, soulful way. But being able to stand there and mourn their loss, I was able to push forward.”
~ Komalpreet Sahota, spring 2014 BC graduate currently studying Law Societies and Justice and Communication at the University of Washington

– by Evan Epstein

 

How Jones makes it happen!

Tim Jones The expenses for such an extensive pilgrimage are a huge consideration for BC political science professor Tim Jones who doesn’t want financial barriers to restrict any students’ participation. With financial assistance from the Bellevue College Office of the President, the Office of Students Affairs, the Office of Diversity and Pluralism, Associated Student Government, and generous community members, pilgrimage students each pay a total of $150 for the eight-day trip. Those interested in learning more about the pilgrimage and how to help future students experience this unique learning community, please contact Rebecca Chawgo at (425) 564-3061.

 

Last Updated October 3, 2016