A Second Time Around

Last year I had the opportunity to be a part of the Jackson team, and I remember walking away from that experience with a completely different outlook on how I was living my life and almost felt as if I was ignorant and unaware of what was going on outside of the little bubble I put myself in. In history class we all learn of the civil rights movement and the means people went through in order to bring about a change to their society. But it’s only the words and testimonies of people that experienced it firsthand that we get our information from. I remember walking through the places where boycotts were held and seeing historical sites of famous civil rights activists and thinking it was so surreal to be standing in the same place where these events took place. You gain a different attitude towards these events while physically being there rather than in a classroom reading what a text book has to say about it. This year I feel so blessed to be able to partake in this trip again. While going on the tour of Jackson and Mendenhall, even though I had a general grasp at what we would see, I gained a lot more insight and I have taken away different things than I did last year. Throughout the tour the main focus is how African Americans fought to make differences and how they felt, which lead me to question how the whites in this area feel about their history. The city is still very segregated and many people living outside of West Jackson have this distorted view of the community. People are scared to even drive through this side of town due to the poverty and high crime. This community won’t be able to change if the majority of people won’t even come close to the community, thus sparking the Spencer Perkins Foundation. Seeing how the foundation works in the community and really having the heart to better the people and environment around them is so inspiring. As I go through this week I hope to be open minded to what God has in store for me and how this trip, and the people I meet, will influence the rest of my life.

-Morgan