For 19 Ohio State students, this holiday weekend will include a trip to the southeastern United States to pay respect to the man who gave rise to this national holiday and learn about the cause for which he fought so valiantly.
The students, members of the John Glenn Civic Leadership Council, left Thursday on a trip to Birmingham, Ala. and Atlanta. The trip will last until Monday and is full of events and activities that relate both to Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s.
“It will be interesting to learn about the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement, the struggles that are still going on and how students can have an impact on them,” said Matt Borden, John Glenn Institute Civic Leadership Council president.
According to the council’s tentative itinerary, the first stop on the trip will be a tour of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the 16th Street Baptist Church. The church basement was bombed in September of 1963, killing four young girls, and has since become a national landmark.
The council members will then travel two hours to Atlanta where they will attend a tribute to Coretta Scott King, the late wife of Martin Luther King Jr. and take part in a freedom rally at Ebenezer Baptist Church. On Monday, the final day of their trip, the students will finish out their itinerary by volunteering their services at the Atlanta Union Mission’s Shepherd’s Inn, a homeless shelter downtown.
The jam-packed weekend is an experience that John Glenn Institute Civic Education Coordinator Ryan Meadows hopes will be more than just a sightseeing tour.
“I hope the students will have a chance to get a historical perspective of the Civil Rights movement and put it into today’s world and see what challenges are still there. I think it will be emotionally powerful,” Meadows said.
Meadows will be the adviser during the five-day event, which marks the third time the council has traveled during Martin Luther King Day weekend. The council traveled to Boston two years ago and New York City last year. With bus fares, hotels and food, the traveling expenses can be high, but the council has received monetary support for their trips.
Borden, a junior in political science, said the USG is paying $750 for the students and the John Glenn School of Public Affairs is also helping pay some of the way. But students going on the trip still have to pay $175 out of their own pocket. That might sound like a lot, but for Holly Coats, vice president of the John Glenn Civic Leadership Council, the price is well worth what she wants to experience.
“I really want to get a better understanding of Martin Luther King’s values and really see and understand his cause that his life was taken for,” Coats said.
Matt Nichols can be reached at [email protected].
