From the Highland Heights to Montgomery, AL
February is Black History Month, and at Collegiate we celebrate our scholars’ diverse cultural and racial backgrounds as part of our unique and powerful school culture. To study Black History, earlier this month a group of CSM high school scholars visited the National Memorial of Peace and Justice and The Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama.
Mr. Patterson, Collegiate’s art teacher, who went to the memorial and museum as a chaperone, explained the importance of the trip: “It’s important for our scholars who will be leaving high school over the next few years to recognize the world they live in and that their skin color does matter. It’s important for them to see the history of racism and to see that it still exists today.”
Our hope is that our scholars, through the power of education and leadership, are able to continue the fight for equality and justice.
Jarveon, CSM Class of 2020, said, “I didn’t realize how large-scale the lynchings were. One of the things that impacted us was the path where there were blocks hanging from the ceiling; each block represented a county where a lynching happened. As you went on the path, it got deeper and deeper and you felt like you were drowning in the amount of lynchings. Black people were lynched for everyday things, and it made me realize how powerless we really used to be.”
Dr. Morgan, another trip chaperone, reflected: “One of the greatest things I saw was a charter bus filled with people of all ages, races, and seasons of life who had shirts on that said ‘Equity for All, We Remember’. This is how change will happen, everyone coming together arm in arm and realizing that this is our history. No one should feel like they have to do it alone. It’s encouraging and gives me hope that even though we still have issues, together, we have come a long way.”
The Equal Justice Initiative website states that they believe that publicly confronting the truth about our history is the first step toward recovery and reconciliation.
Jarveon believes that everyone should visit the memorial and museum. He believes touring the museum will help bring more of an appreciation of black culture and an understanding of black history for everyone.
To learn more about the museum and memorial, visit the Equal Justice Initiative website at museumandmemorial.eji.org.