Civil rights tour of South opens eyes of Kansas City area students

And now, we’re going to make a rainbow.”

These were the words of our teachers as we prepared for a group activity. For 20 students from University Academy, a predominantly African-American school in Kansas City, and 27 students from Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, a Jewish day school in Overland Park, forming this “rainbow” was our call to break racial and religious boundaries as we prepared to journey on a civil rights tour of the South.

Before embarking on the nine-day trip in March, students of the schools studied the civil rights movement. We also met three times to learn about the legacy of the movement and discuss our respective cultures and heritage. We listened tocivil rights activist Alvin Brooks’ accounts of the movement in Kansas City and his advocacy against racism and violence.

We talked about today’s biases and stereotypes plus the African-American and Jewish history connections. After weeks of preparation, and excitement, we embarked on our trip, which included Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Our path took us to more than 10 historic sites, five civil and human rights museums, and several active social initiatives for justice, including the Winter Institute in Oxford, Miss., and the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala. We also stopped in Selma, Ala., to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

It was the site of Bloody Sunday, the infamous 1965 attack on civil rights marchers by Alabama state troopers. As we walked, we sang songs of freedom and justice so strongly that I could barely hear my own voice.

Our guide, Lynda Lowery, showed us her scars from the first time she crossed the bridge. Bloody Sunday was the same day she turned 15, a year younger than I am today.

The stories of that day’s tour guides and sisters Lowery and Joanne Bland, their ongoing pursuit of justice, and the overwhelming effect of crossing the bridge brought many to tears. Having the opportunity to experience the trip with students from different backgrounds put more emphasis on the most recurring and resonant theme of the movement: Discrimination is a problem for all people, not just the victims.

Overall, the experience was life-changing. Not only do I have a stronger understanding of the boundless power of people to effect change in the ongoing struggle for civil and human rights worldwide, but I have realized the urgency of taking action. Just as the issues that fueled the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s still exist today, the need for social action still exists in Kansas City, the U.S. and globally.

You do not need to lead an entire movement to change the world. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. did not single-handedly change the world; he led the charge with people like Brooks, Bland, Lowery and countless others who stood for justice.

Even small acts of social change can ripple through the masses and have an immeasurable effect on the world.

I will never forget the strength of our voices, our unbreakable unity, and a quote from the Torah that continues to echo in my mind and memory: “Justice, Justice, You Shall Pursue.”

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 1:31 PM with the headline "Civil rights tour of South opens eyes of Kansas City area students."