For 36 JMU students and staff members, an experiential learning trip following the Freedom Riders of the 1960s through Alabama and Georgia was an opportunity to explore a pivotal chapter in the American civil rights movement and gain an appreciation of the courage and commitment necessary to effect positive social change. Sponsored by JMU’s Center for Multicultural Student Services, the tour included stops at Brown Chapel AME Church, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the Rosa Parks Library and Museum, and Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, as well as the Civil Rights Memorial, the Equal Justice Initiative and The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Participants agreed that open communication can lead to increased cultural awareness and self-understanding.
Participants were encouraged to immerse themselves in the experience, to spend time with the presenters and the exhibits, and to reflect on what they learned.
