Over 500 students from F.C. Hammond and Jefferson-Houston schools got to walk virtually, through the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, AL. The tour was part of CCNA’s Civics 101 Project, extending learning beyond the classroom.
During the months of April and May, CCNA, together with The Bowman Group, Birmingham, Al, and the Boswell Family Charitable Foundation, Montgomery, AL, hosted 400 students from F.C. Hammond Middle School and 150 students from Jefferson-Houston School for a series of virtual tours of the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery Al, the cradle of the civil rights movement.
Focusing on December 5, 1955 – the day Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the segregated city bus – the guided tours covered the Montgomery bus boycott. It explored how, for 381 days, African-American citizens of Montgomery (who were called Negroes) refused to ride city buses until changes in the law were made to ensure the same rights and equalities afforded white citizens were granted to Negro riders as well. The boycott hit the city where it would hurt the most – lost revenues. The students learned the power of the people. Rosa Park’s act of civil disobedience sparked a movement that would benefit many. It fueled the start of the Civil Rights Movement as we know it today.
As part of the virtual tours, Felicia Tolliver Johnson challenged the F.C. Hammond students to a contest, with the winners receiving Amazon gift cards from CCNA, The Boswell Charitable Foundation and The Bowman Group. The students wrote their understanding and feelings about what they learned on the virtual tour. There were three contest winners from F.C. Hammond:
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- 1st place Prose: Angelica Wannakul $125 gift card
- 1st place Poem: Annabel Shultz $100 gift card
- 2nd place Poem: Delaney Paul $75 gift card
In late May, as a follow-up to the virtual tours and working with Brittany Fraser, Jefferson Houston Parent Liaison, CCNA hosted a Parent Engagement Forum with parents, students and guests, to take a closer look at the impact of the civil rights movement from the perspective of those who grew up through the era.
COL RET Jim Paige, CCNA Executive Director, introduced the guest speakers and set the tone for the forum with a 2-minute CCNA produced retrospective video, titled, Montgomery to Market Street. The video focused on key civil right events from the Rosa Parks Montgomery Bus Boycott to the 1969 Greensboro Uprising at NC A&T State University, on Market Street, thus the title, “Montgomery to Market Street.”
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Speakers and guests shared their personal experiences about growing up during the 1960’s and beyond.
Emotions ran high as Gwendolyn Day-Fuller, CCNA Immediate Past Board Chair, recounted her pride, being in the crowd with her father at the 1963 March on Washington. Likewise, Fannie Allen, Allen Protocol & Leadership Institute and longtime CCNA Volunteer sobbed gently as she recalled her time as a Georgia college student, witnessing Dr. M.L. King’s funeral parade in 1968.
Others offered similar reflections.
- “The civil rights movement inspired me to fight racism any way possible,” stated Hank Van Van Putten, New York City native Anti Racist Educator, Peace & Justice Institute.
- J Glen Hopkins, CEO, Hopkins House, recalled growing up in New York City in the late 1960s, “As a young teenager, I watched the civil rights movement unfold and was afraid that something tragic may happen.”
- The 1969 Greensboro Uprising was five days of uncertainty, fear, sadness, rage, anger, and death. Our classmate, Willie Grimes was killed for no reason” stated COL RET Jim Paige, class of 1970, NC A&T State University.
From the chat room, comments and questions ranged from “what lessons did we learn?” to “how can we have more sessions like this.” Audrey Davis, Director, Alexandria Black History Museum, weighed in, offering to work even more closely with CCNA to deliver more sessions to the full community.
“The event was very well moderated, and the personal stories were moving”, offered C. Roney. CCNA Board Vice Chair, Brenda Adams, agreed, “I was able to feel the emotion of Ms. Allen as she described viewing the casket of Martin Luther King passing her the day of his funeral.”
Felicia Tolliver Johnson Hammond Middle School, offered special thanks to Rosa Parks Museum Staff, Donna Beisel and Madeline Burkhardt and to CCNA for their great support. Echoing her comments, Brittany Fraser, Jefferson Houston Parent Liaison, closed the session with thanks to panel and guests with a heartfelt desire to have more sessions for parents, students, and students.
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