Class Studies Martin Luther King Jr.'s Legacy of Civil Rights
As part of a new sociology class on civil rights, a group of students from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia is preparing to make a pilgrimage to the deep South to study the legacy of Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders. The new course, "The Civil Rights Movement: The Dream Will Never Die," marks the 30th anniversary of the April 4, 1968 assassination of King, as well as his January 15 birthday.
Like college students of northern universities in the 1960s, ten St. Joseph's juniors and seniors will board a bus and travel to North and South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama and tackle issues of race, inequality and civil rights. The students will have the unique opportunity the relive the experiences of their counterparts of 30 years ago during a week-long study tour of historic landmarks featuring discussions and lectures with participants in and witnesses of the Civil Rights Movement.
The bus tour is the first component of an innovative sociology course, "The Civil Rights Movement: The Dream Will Never Die," which will immerse students in the history of the civil rights struggle, and then project that history upon their own experiences of race and inequality in today's society. Throughout the tour and the semester, students will read speeches, letters and other documents of the movement, as well as books addressing its historical and sociological significance. Students depart from St. Joseph's at 8.00 a.m. Saturday, January 10th and return Saturday, January 17th.
Itinerary: Jan 10: Drive to Winston Salem, NC.
Jan 11: Discussion with Winston Salem individuals active in the movement and
drive to Atlanta
Jan 12: Visit King Home; Ebenezer Baptist Church; King Center and grave.
Presentation by King Center Staff.
Jan 13: Drive to Birmingham. Visit Kelly Ingram Park; 16th St. Baptist Church. Drive to Selma and cross Edmund Pettus Bridge. Drive on to Montgomery.
Jan 14: Visit Civil Rights Memorial; Southern Poverty Law Center; Dexter Ave. Baptist Church; site where Rosa Parks was arrested. Drive back to Atlanta for evening of video and discussion.
Jan 15: Visit Carter Center for presentation with on Carter's Human Rights initiative and King's Civil Rights efforts. Drive to Durham, NC.
Jan 16: Discussion with Durham individuals on the Civil Rights Movement. Drive to Washington, D.C., for evening visit to Lincoln Memorial and other sites.
Jan 17: Tentative meeting with Congressman John Lewis and then return to Philadelphia.
Rev. Richard G. Malloy, associate professor of sociology at St. Joseph's and pastor of Holy Name Church in Camden, N.J., is one of the co-organizers and designers of the study tour. Students participating in the course have variety of academic backgrounds including biology, psychology, international relations, marketing, sociology, theology and education.
"We want students to make a pilgrimage--a transformative journey," said Father Malloy. "College students were in the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s, they risked their lives. This study tour is an effort to really acquaint today's students with what happened in the south 30 years ago. These students currently deal with race--but where does it all come from? This course is an attempt to teach race by first getting students to experience it for themselves. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Martin Luther King's assassination. We need to reflect seriously on where we've been in the last 30 years and where we can go from here."
CONTACT:
Rev. Richard G. Malloy, S.J. 610/660-1687 (St. Joseph's)
609/963-0145 (Camden)
[email protected]
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