The Civil Rights Tour is a biennial “journey of recovery remembrance, and reconciliation.” Here, Berea College faculty, staff and partners followed in the footsteps of the civil rights activists.
PURPOSE
African Americans did not gain their civil rights as something natural, due and owing at birth. Instead, citizenship was gained through countless legal, political and physical struggles, victories and defeats. This Sankofa journey of recovery, remembrance and reconciliation is meant to give each person an opportunity to reflect upon these struggles and victories. Not only this, but also the application of social and political policies resulting from our shared history. Organizers of this event hope that it will present an opportunity for participants to engage in discussion on many levels. These discussions should relate back to the mission of interracial education at Berea College. More specifically, the enduring goals of equality pursued during the Civil Rights Movement. As a society, we have not yet achieved these goals.
THE JOURNEY
Our physical journey will take us from Kentucky to Alabama. Here, we will follow the footsteps of some of America’s most renowned Civil Rights leaders. Our spiritual journey, the more difficult of our tasks, includes study and mediation on the words and actions of leaders who committed themselves to the betterment of humanity. The focus of our spiritual journey is an attempt to:
- Revisit the work of American Civil Rights activists and pioneers
- Explore how the work of Berea College faculty and staff connects to the College’s founding mission of interracial education
- Provide context to the student population at Berea College
- Build community
Photos of the 2013 Civil Rights Tour
