Students Explore History of Civil Rights

A 50-seat bus, nine days under the summer sun and four University of Pittsburgh students made for one enlightening journey to important sites of the civil rights movement.

For the second year, Pitt participated in the “Returning to the Roots of Civil Rights,” a 2,300-mile journey, mostly through the South, stopping at churches, lunch counters and museums where history was made. Visits were arranged so that travelers could speak with participants of some of America's most famous civil rights marches and protests.

Shawn Jackson, a 2017 Pitt graduate who majored in computer science and economics, said the trip helped him to get a closer look at how African-Americans responded to segregation and discrimination and helped to transform society during a critical portion of U.S. history.

“I learned that the African-American people are a sophisticated, powerful, motivated and persistent people,” he said. “I learned that against most of the horrific evils that were perpetrated against them in American history, they used love, theological beliefs and values and iron will to overcome.”

The tour left from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and made its first stop in Greensboro, North Carolina, the site of lunch-counter sit-ins. Other stops included Birmingham, Alabama; Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta. The journey ended in Canton, Ohio, at Clearview Golf Club, which, according to the Professional Golfers’ Association of America, remains the only golf course owned, designed and built by an African-American.

Getting the students on this bus is a way to be intentional about learning of diverse experiences and exposing students to knowledge of how many different cultures shaped our nation.

Jonathan Richards, adviser for the trip

The tour also allowed the one returning Pitt undergraduate student in the group to earn credit in Pitt’s nationally recognized Outside the Classroom Curriculum (OCC). OCC is an optional, nonacademic course of experiences, programs and events that promotes student development and experiential learning in 10 goal areas. 

“This is like a classroom on the road,” said Steve Anderson, associate dean and director of the Office of Residence Life at Pitt, whose office helped to connect the students to the tour. 

For Pitt, the trip puts the University at the forefront with other national teaching efforts to confront the history of the civil rights era, putting a new generation in dialogue with the past about the role of the individual and the government in building a better society.

For Sienna Xu, who graduated in 2017 with a Master of Education degree, hearing from participants who survived dog attacks and who lost friends when churches were bombed provided lessons in understanding personal strength and standing up for your beliefs.

“I greatly admire the people who fought for their rights. They did not just do it for them, but for us, the people living today. They are so brave. I learned that I should always remember I need to do the right things and never give up my dreams,” she said.

The trip itinerary touched history and music and faith and politics. Embedded in each stop were issues of race and social justice, integral parts of the lessons of inclusion that students are exposed to at Pitt.

For teaching and learning, “getting the students on this bus is a way to be intentional about learning of diverse experiences and exposing students to knowledge of how many different cultures shaped our nation,” said Jonathan Richards, a Pitt resident director, who served as a trip adviser this year. “This experience is about growth and understanding. At the end of this journey, our students have become more self-aware and are eager to share what they have learned with the campus community.”

This slideshow of images represents some of what the students experienced on the tour.