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Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth
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Louisa Holaday:
For me, Reverend Shuttlesworth was the biggest disappointment on the trip. This is at least partly due to the fact that he was one of the speakers I was looking forward to the most. Even though I am not a religious person, from the clips I had seen and things I had read regarding Reverend Shuttlesworth it seemed he would be an incredible, inspiring preacher. Unfortunately, I was let down. Granted, Rev. Shuttlesworth is in his mid - eighties, so I was still impressed with what he did based on his age. What he delivered was not what I had hoped for, however. I could barely understand his speech, the congregation was nearly non-existant, and it seemed as though a disproportionate amount of the service was used to collect or request money. Nonetheless, I looked forward to the question-and-answer session.
Unfortunately, the question-and-answer session was a disappointment as well. I found it to be more of a question-and-sermon session, as he did not directly answer any of our questions. I feel that he had two possible responses which he fit to any of our questions. Either he would twist around what you had said so that he could somehow link it to Jesus, or he would tell the story of the church bombing from his perspective at the time. From what I remember of the Spike Lee documentary, Four Little Girls, the story he relayed in church is identical to the one in the film. While I find this to be an interesting story, I only need to hear it a certain number of times to memorize the entire thing. As this was our last speaker, it was a bit anti-climactic, but all in all the trip was amazing.
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Ashleigh Sewell:
On the first day, we were all excited about the
accomplishments of the civil rights movement. When we met Kwame Lillard,
his words shook us and confused us and even upset us. He was unhappy with
the civil rights movement. He was unhappy with what it hadn't accomplished.
He was unhappy with what it had accomplished. He slapped us in the face
harder than Charles Sherrod did. We discussed what Mr. Lillard had said
from an incredible number of angles. We had calm talks, and we had heated
talks. His message went round and around. Then, almost suddenly, the
general feeling within the group changed. We went from anti-Kwame to
pro-Kwame, if you will. We even started asking questions in a sort of
antagonistic vein that, I think, had their roots in Lillard's message to us.
Now, that warm, fuzzy yay Civil Rights Movement feeling is almost gone. I
feel an air similar to 'What have you done for me lately?'
I really think that this trip has changed many of my classmates
and me at least a little. Those changes came not only from the speakers,
sights and etc, of the itinerary but from the group's dynamic. We truly
discussed and pondered ourselves into exhaustion. All those things created
individual changes, but for the group as a whole our viewpoint evolution
started with Kwame Lillard. I feel sure of that. He gave us a challenge
and brought us to change.
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Rebecca Mark:
One of the most beneficial aspects of the trip was the ideologically diverse group of people that decided to attend. Obviously everyone, especially people as opinionated as those who took part in the class, had preconceived notions about the Civil Rights Movement and its successes and failures. However, a vast majority of the people on the trip came with an open mind, knowing and embracing the fact that their ideas would be questioned and tested to the absolute maximum. My favorite times during our adventure to the South were those spent in groups on the bus discussing the speakers we had heard, locals we had met and places we had visited. While discovering one's identity in college there is absolutely no substitution for personal contact. I would never have been able to understand the myriad of opinions that originate around the movement had I not been able to talk one on one with students who have beliefs greatly different from my own. Furthermore, I found myself thinking about and discussing issues other than the Civil Rights Movement, issues that I had had a clear conception about before the trip but now realize are not as "black and white" as I originally thought. I believe what the trip and class try to stress is the need to actually think about and give credit to opinions other than your own. I do not agree with a number of the ideas I heard about from both speakers and classmates while on the trip. However, I do respect their beliefs and find myself "tweaking" my own.
There is a huge difference in ones capacity to learn when you visit someone as opposed to reading about them. I found this especially true when thinking about the vast differences in socioeconomic status with those involved in the Movement. Though I knew that the "Governor Winter's" had a different experience then the "Taylor Rodgers'," it never fully hit home until I saw the conditions they are working in today and perspectives they had about the movement. There was such a wide variety of people that took part in the struggle for equality, much larger then I expected to find, and I think recognizing the differing opinions about the movement based on socioeconomic status is fundamental when attempting to understand the emotions behind the Movement.
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La'Sheanma Lumpkin:
We are finally back home after ten days of traveling. I must say that I don't have any regrets about spending my wonderful Spring Break on an Educational tour, seriously. I thought that all the speakers were very good. I felt that overall they all agreed with each other on the things that they thought needed to happen in society today. I felt that a lot of the questions my class answered were marvelous. Many of the speakers answered with a lot of confidence in what they were saying which made it a lot simpler to except their answers as the truth. I think I learned a lot of interesting facts and thoughts not only from the speakers, but also from my classmates. The discussions that were generated after our meetings with the speakers helped clear up a lot of unanswered questions that I had after the talks. I got to hear my classmate's personal opinions on some of the comments that were brought up, which meant a lot to me. I love to hear other peoples perspectives on situations because it makes you more open-minded and in tune with the surrounding world. It also made me feel closer to them in a way. That made the trip go a lot smoother than what it would have. I must say we have some gifted and strong people in this class.
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