Kou Week 1

Week 1 of my summer of service started on June 8, 2012 (last Friday). I went on a civil rights trip with Stetson University College of Law for one week. We went to Memphis, Nashville, Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham, and Atlanta. We visited some historic places such as the 16th street Baptist Church and Kelly Ingram Park. We also got the chance to talk to some of the people who participated in the civil rights movement. It's amazing how the participants of the movement stuck with the strategy of non-violence even when they were being beaten and spat on.

What made me really open my eyes was how frightened these people are for our generation. Many of them stressed the fact that we have access to news 24/7 but yet and still many of us fail to educate ourselves. Instead of fighting for a social cause, we spend our time on Facebook or texting. One of the Freedom Riders also blamed our lack of education on the school system. The Freedom Rider's daughter was assigned to write an essay on the Freedom Rides and her daughter received an F on the essay. The teacher said that the student was a liar and the stuff in her essay never happened. The student's mother had to come to the school and tell the teacher that she was a Freedom Rider and the events in the essay actually happened.

This trip was an intellectual experience that motivated me to want to do something and further instilled in me the value of helping others fight for equality. Anyone who feels that everyone should have an equal chance should go on this trip.