The Civil Rights Pilgrimage is taken by students at UW-Eau Claire each winter and spring break to explore the Deep South and be immersed in the history of the Civil Rights Movement. Follow their progress on the trip and watch for pictures, videos, and updates from students on the trip, and check out students' journaled experiences each day!
NEW! Communication and Journalism students report from the pilgrimage!
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire students have the opportunity to spend their winter or spring break on a Civil Rights Pilgrimage to the South, visiting sites of historic importance to the U.S. civil rights movement. This blog is a record of the learning experiences of our students dating back to our first trip in March 2008.
Interviewing a Living Legend:Rev. Frederick D. Reese
While on our stop in Selma, AL I had the pleasure of sitting down with Reverend Frederick D. Reese. Reverend Reese was there on Bloody Sunday, he also signed the letter that was sent to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inviting him to come to Selma to gain equal voting rights for all citizens.
"I marched side by side with Dr. King, went to jail with him, suffered with him for the right to vote and to tried to bring about a change in our community," Rev. Reese said.
Rev. Frederick Reese (front with hat) holds hands with Coretta Scott King and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the march from Selma to Montgomery.
On March 21, 1965, Reese marched along with close to 8,000 people across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on their 54 mile march to Montgomery, AL. The journey across the bridge was one of three attempts to travel to the State Capital of Montgomery. The first of these marches took place on March 7, 1965 which is historically known as Bloody Sunday. During my time interviewing Rev. Reese he shared his memory of that day and the days that followed in the march from Selma to Montgomery.
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