Commemorating Civil Rights

During the first week of spring break 2013 Professors Bloom and Carter led a group of 23 students, as well as five faculty and staff, on a Civil Rights trip. The group stayed for five days at Concordia College Selma, where they had the privilege of interacting with local faculty and students. The Valpo team moreover participated in a Jubilee festival and commemorative march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the site of a notorious attack on Civil Rights demonstrators in 1965. Day trips to Montgomery and Birmingham rounded out the Alabama experience. On the way back, meanwhile, the group stopped in Memphis, Tenn., where it visited the National Civil Rights Museum. It was a deeply moving experience for all who participated.

You can read a full report on the experience here and another one here. In addition, the group was mentioned in an article by Martin Marty, who was part of the 1965 demonstrations and returned for the 2013 jubilee. Finally, 2013 graduate Justin Dunn, who went on the trip, was interviewed by a reporter for NPR’s Morning Edition in the immediate wake of the commemorative march. You can hear that segment here.