UTSA students stand in front of the 16th St. Baptist Church in Birmingham in 2018.
(Jan. 3, 2019) – UTSA student leaders will start the new year embarking on a unique journey through our nation’s history. For the eighth straight year, the UTSA Student Leadership Center is hosting dozens of Roadrunners on a Civil Rights and Social Justice Experience, a bus trip across five cities in five states that will immerse the students in the history of the civil rights movement and current social justice issues.
Fifty-six Roadrunners will take part in this year’s trip, which for the first time, will last six days. The students will be guided through the experience by student facilitators, who were selected from last year’s group of participants.
“I wanted to come back to get another perspective of the Civil Rights Movement and guide new participants though the journey as they see historical sites for the first time,” said Jabrell Scott, a UTSA senior majoring in communication. “During the trip last year, I learned that there are other social justice issues in this world that people need to understand. I feel honored to be chosen as a facilitator, and I’m excited about the impact I can have on others.”
The Civil Rights and Social Justice Experience begins today and includes a stop in Jackson, Miss., where students will visit the Mississippi Museum of Civil Rights. The students will also visit the Edmund Pettis bridge is Selma, Ala., where protesters were violently attacked in what is known as “Sunday, Bloody, Sunday.”
From Selma, the group will travel along the historic route used by protesters fighting for voting rights to Montgomery, Ala. There, students will visit the brand new National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Rosa Parks Bus Stop.
The next stop will be Atlanta, Ga., where the group will visit The King Center, which includes Ebenezer Baptist Church and the tomb of civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King. The group will also visit the Center for Human and Civil Rights.
The last stop is Memphis, Tenn. to see the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum, the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ headquarters where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his last speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop," the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the W.C. Handy Museum.
“I know a lot of people who have gone on the trip and had life changing experiences, and I felt it was definitely something I needed to be a part of before I graduate in May,” said Sophia Montemayor, a UTSA senior majoring in public health. “I hope to learn more about the personal cost and experiences of those who fought for equality during the Civil Rights Movement. I want to bring back to UTSA new knowledge and insight that I can use and spread with classmates, friends, family and student organizations.”
Along with site visits, the UTSA students participating in the trip will follow a curriculum that includes watching documentaries, group discussions and presentations from guest speakers and activists.
Once the students return to UTSA, they will host a reflection session to share what they learned during the journey with the UTSA community. The Civil Rights and Justice Experience Reflection will be at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15 in the Student Union Denman Room (SU 2.01.28).
They students will also join the UTSA delegation during San Antonio’s MLK Jr. March on Monday, Jan. 21.
Follow the UTSA Student Leadership Center for live videos and updates during the trip on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.
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