To take a deeper look into the history of the civil rights movement, a group of Lipscomb students traveled to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., at the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
The one-day trip was led by Dr. Lee Camp, a Bible professor, who sought to give students the opportunity to visit the history of the civil rights movement. Most students had never been to the museum, so it was “an eye-opening experience.”
“It’s one thing to hear about it all the time, but to actually be in a place where history happened…it just made it so real for me,” said Natilan Crutcher, a Lipscomb student who went on the trip.
The museum takes students through the history of African Americans from the early 1600s to the recent years of 2000-2012. The museum is made up of exhibits, artifacts, sculptures and remakes of events which led to the civil and human rights movement.
“I came to this museum as a child, and I didn’t really know much about it,” said John Brownlee, a Lipscomb student from Memphis, Tenn., “but now that I am older I’m starting to appreciate it more, now that I understand the struggle of people like my grandmother and great grandmother.”
For some students, the museum opened their eyes to appreciate life and the struggle of so many African Americans reaching for freedom, justice and equality.
“I have a better understanding of how things went down,” said Lipscomb student Day Day Wells.
Wells said the experience led her to think about the things people often take for granted such as using public restrooms and drinking out of water fountains without barriers guarded by race. The students who attended said they were able to step back and appreciate the life, legacy and history of civil rights leaders and activists who sacrificed their own lives for equality and freedom.