Day 7

This pilgrimage has been one of the most life changing experiences I have had.  I was so unaware of all the inequality and problems that still go on to this day.  I loved actually going to all the places that we learned about in school.  It is one thing to learn something, but to actually see it in person is a whole new experience.  It allowed me to get a different feel and gave me a different perspective on what I learned.  For example I had learned about the Little Rock Central High School, but until I was able to see it I didn’t realize how large the school was and that the size of the school itself was used as an intimidation method to nonwhite students.  I think it was also important to learn more about the problems in the past to compare them to present day issues.  There are many similarities, but there were also differences, which was encouraging to see that we have made progress.  However, there are still many issues that we saw on the trip such as segregation, and a lack of female representation in the portrayal of history.  I think that we have to be careful that we do not continue to leave people out of the story, who were crucial in shaping our history.  That is part of something that I have to do, now that I have returned from the trip.  Others and myself need to make sure that we spread the word, and tell others about what we learned.  Since I became more aware of the social inequalities and inappropriate judgments that people make about others, I want to help stop others from using these offensive words.  I want to educate people on what is offensive to others and help inform people on a language that is inclusive to all.

This image of inspirational posters show that we must continue to work and never stop trying to make change.  While the other picture of the capital in Montgomery shows that there are still forces and institutions that may hinder or try to get in the way of change, but we cannot let them prohibit us from continuing on in making this world a place where all can feel safe.