Engage Your Past - Vision Your Future

A little more than a year ago, I sat down with Jessica Williams, Byron Henson, and Michael DeVaul--branch-level and association leaders of the YMCA of Greater Charlotte. At the meeting, I pitched to them the idea of developing a program for their already vibrant Teen Program to study the Civil Rights Movement in an effort to engage young people in the study of their past. Too often, the students who I teach on the college level come to my classes with an idea that History is too remote and inaccessible to matter to the lives that they lead. Convincing them otherwise is, at times, my greatest battle. I firmly believe that providing students opportunities to engage their past outside the classroom can make the learning experience both valuable and meaningful. Fortunately for me, the YMCA leadership in Charlotte warmly received my idea. What follows is the letter of invitation that was sent to parents inviting their children to participate in our program. I hope it will put into context what our tour from June 14-20 is trying to accomplish.

Dear Parents,

Throughout their lives, Willie Stratford and Jim Richardson worked to build opportunities for investments in social capital for all who live in the greater Charlotte area. As you well know, one of the tangible symbols of their tireless efforts is the presence of a YMCA on West Boulevard.

It is in the spirit of the vision of Mr. Stratford and Mr. Richardson that your child has been invited to participate in a pilot program sponsored by the YMCA called "Creating a Usable Past: A Study of the Civil Rights Movement." This opportunity will provide a forum for your child to engage in an in depth study of arguably the most important historical transformation of the United States in the twentieth century. Moreover, the program will allow participants to experience the history through a seven-day tour of the Movement.

Last march, I had the opportunity to join a similar experience led by civil rights activist and current NAACP chairman, Julian Bond. Since my college days, I had been engaged in the study of and teaching of the Civil Rights Movement, but never was it more real than the days that i spent walking in the footsteps of those who sacrificed, suffered, yet won the hard-fought victories of the Movement.

I feel that this generation of young people who are at the cusp of adulthood face an interesting crossroads where the issue of race and race relations reveals itself in our country. With the election of President Barack Obama last November, we are witnessing tangible realizations of Dr. King's dream that people "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." President Obama's and other politicians' "breakthroughs" hopefully will show that high aspirations can be accesible realities. Yet, as we recognize the 50-year anniversaries of so many civil rights milestones, I fear that the realities fo the history and the lessons it can teach us become more remote for today's students. Surely, they will continue to learn the significance of Dr. King and the likes of Rosa Parks, but will they understand the heroism of the lesser-known giants of the Movement like Jo Ann Robinson, Ernest Green, John Lewis, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy Counts-Scoggins, or Julius Chambers. Moreover, will they strive to make connections with how those past struggles can remain significant in their lives as they mature?

Over the past several months, Jessica Williams, Director of the Teen Programs at Stratford-Richardson, adn I have been developing a curriculum aimed to provide an historical context and forum for young people to discuss the twin issues of race and civil rights. We are using the best of what the Teen Program has to offer by incorporating the model established by the Teen Scoop Crew--using photojournalism and written reflectionto engage kids in their communities--and readings in history along with documentaries, films, and group discussion to encourage the students to consider their past, present and future. The highlight of the program--the bus tour--will take students to museums and historic sites in Nashville and Mmephis, Tennessee; Clarksdale and Oxford, Mississippi; Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery, Alabama; and Atlanta, Georgia.

I hope you agree that this will be a memorable and valuable experience for your child.

Sincerely,

Michael