August 23, 2018
Needless to say, race and social justice are important topics of conversation these days. Headlines related to police brutality, the legacy of slavery, the expansion of hate groups, and mass incarceration appear frequently. To explore these issues and, in particular, the role of the civil rights movement in American history, 21 MPA Upper School students and two MPA teachers traveled more than 3,000 miles on the “This Land is Your Land” bus trip. They saw sights ranging from one of the segregated schools associated with the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision to the Lorraine Motel and the National Civil Rights Museum to the new National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. Additionally, they visited six presidential libraries and homes and other major sights, including the World War I Museum in Kansas City and Graceland.
Teachers Mike Vergin and Katie Murr observed students grappling with difficult questions at every turn. At presidential libraries, they wrestled with what defines a successful president. At the Lorraine Motel, they acknowledged the progress Martin Luther King, Jr. achieved and asked questions about the work left to be done. On the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they thought about how political action can be an act of great courage and bravery. Many students also chose to read books related to what they witnessed, including “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson and “Warriors Don’t Cry” by Melba Pattillo Beals.
At the end of the trip, teacher Katie Murr praised the students, saying, “It was remarkable to watch so many students volunteer to confront topics that so many Americans simply want to ignore. Their commitment to challenging their own views of the arc of United States history reaffirmed my belief that our future is in good hands.”
