Our last day of the freedom tour was at the Highlander School in Tennessee. First of all, the place itself was beautiful. Set on top of a hill, the view was breathtaking. In a circular, wooden room, we watched a short movie and did some exercises that helped us learn about who came to the school and the ideas the school promotes.
We were also given the opportunity to get into small groups to talk and reflect on our tour as a whole while at Highlander. While reflecting, I realized that this tour took me on a journey that I did not expect. I expected the straight facts and a more thorough knowledge of the events of the Civil Rights Movement. But, the tour gave me more than just knowledge; it provided me with an understanding. Now I understand the struggle these activists were faced with, and the struggle they still face. I admit that I never quite realized how bad the situation for blacks in the south really was. In my reflection group I admitted that my background had sheltered me from this knowledge. Coming from a privileged, white, northern, family, I had always been somewhat detached from the situation. I knew what had occurred in the movement and that segregation was bad, but actually traveling to these sites gave me a deeper understanding. Hearing personal accounts of the events and seeing the problems that still exist made me realize that the movement was much more of a struggle for rights that were truly deserved than I had initially realized.
I also learned a little about myself, and who I should strive to become. The people of the movement dropped everything to help others. In the example of the Highlander School, people would sacrifice up to six weeks of their busy lives to learn how to be nonviolent activists. This is a sacrifice the average person would never make. There also was a sacrifice required in order for them to learn to adhere to the philosophy of nonviolence. It requires a mental strength that many people aren’t willing to put in the effort to possess.
Above all, I’ve learned that nonviolence requires love. Love requires acceptance. Acceptance requires forgetting judgments and listening to others. Once we can learn to stop judging people before we hear their story, we can work to making a better community void of violence, hatred, and discrimination.