Two week ago I set off for Montgomery, AL, with a group of teachers and other stakeholders from the 1619 Freedom School in Waterloo, Iowa.
The school was the dream of Nikole Hannah-Jones and Sheritta Stokes who talked and planned in the spring of 2020 while we were all stuck at home.
I have been lucky enough to work as the librarian - curating their collection from the very beginning.
This trip was the first time we were all able to spend time together as a group, create lasting memories, and experience places we have only ever read about.
Highlights included a tour of the Women of Gynecology, Equal Justice Initiative Museum, National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Freedom Rides Museum, a tour of Dr. Richard Harris House, located just three doors down from MLK, Jr.'s house, a walk across the Edmund Pettis Bridge, as well as getting to meet a variety of interesting people who could speak about the issues of race in the South.
Our days were packed full and we learned about and talked about a lot of heavy stuff. By the time we returned to our hotel each day, we were ready to shower (the day we rode to Selma on a charter bus without air conditioning was perhaps the worst) and relax. But I will be thinking about this trip for the rest of my life.
When our after school students return in just a few weeks, I will be ready to talk to them and share this experience, and find reading material that supports the history of all parts of our country.
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