By Brian Johnston
Adjunct professor of African-American studies Stephen Balkaran brought a group of 17 students to the deep south this summer in hopes of giving them a chance of a lifetime by discovering the roots of the civil rights movement.
The full itinerary included trips to Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham, Ala., Dr. Martin Luther King’s birth house, Dr. King’s missionary in Montgomery, Ala., the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. and various museums in honor of key figures of this historic era.
“The unplanned things were perhaps some of the best experiences on the trip, like meeting Martin Luther King III,” said Karyn Cormier, one of the students on the trip.
After spending many months raising money and writing letters to try and be awarded grants for the trip, Professor Balkaran was thrilled that every student who attended was able to go for free based on the approximately $17,500 that was raised.
Since the trip, Balkaran has gotten numerous comments from a wide array of institutions in hopes of being involved with the project in the future. Places such as Yale University, the University of Buffalo and the University of South Florida have come in contact with Balkaran and hopefully soon, “The Dream Must Be Kept Alive,” will be a nationally known project.
The trip ended up being an “overwhelming success,” professor Balkaran exclaimed as his computer screen was flashing images of his memories.
A lecture by Dr. King’s son on his father’s dream in the 21st Century was organized. His response was that his dad’s dream after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 was more on the human rights issues facing America. Those being poverty, health care, housing, education and so forth. CCSU’s students were amazed to be told that they were getting a lecture by Dr. King’s son in Atlanta when they had arrived, but the better news was that they were able to ask him questions on the civil rights movement and his experiences while growing up.
On that same day there was a meeting scheduled with Dr. King’s best friend, Congressman John Lewis. Lewis is a long time activist who marched with Dr. King in the 1960’s for equality and freedom. He was, along with Dr. King’s son, able to give them a firsthand account of the civil rights movement from someone who served on the streets, and not from the textbooks they had become accustomed to.
Michael Cook, another student in the class, added that the Lorraine Motel, site of Dr. King’s assassination, “was very moving.”
During the trip students had the opportunity to meet with the mayor of Birmingham, Ala. Dr. King had called Birmingham the most racist city in America. They first met the city council of Birmingham on Tuesday, July 12th at a city council meeting where Balkaran addressed the council. The council acknowledged the civil rights project, and a local Fox station did a piece on them while they were out.
After that, there was a one hour oral history with Mayor William Bell on racism in Birmingham and how much the city has evolved from the days of Dr. King. He clearly explained to the students that change takes time, but he believes that Birmingham is heading in the right direction with regard to race relations. Although he believed that racism still exists, the city has come a long way.
Although this trip seems like something of a normal vacation, with a side of studying, this was definitely not the case by any means. Professor Balkaran did a lot of behind the scenes work before the trip could even be presented in order to be accepted.
“Coordinating with several cities, museums, civil rights icons, bus companies, flights, meals and every other thing you can think of was done by me,” said Balkaran.
The FBI even had a hand in making this special occasion possible. Professor Balkaran needed to get special clearance in order to conduct interviews with some of these people, mainly for precautionary reasons, but there was also a special stop to President Jimmy Carter’s office. Unfortunately he was unavailable to meet the class for a few minutes of questions, but his secretary showed off his office and President Carter was well aware of their presence and the experience that they were having.
Once back at school, Balkaran received a signed letter from President Carter that acknowledged the importance of the events that he has accomplished in his short teaching career.
“In the future, I’m hoping to be able to have upwards of 40 students able to attend,” Balkaran said. “This was a breakthrough class that needs to be made aware of.”
To help get the class the attention Balkaran wants it to receive, a documentary and book are currently in the works.
Student Joseph LaLanne commented that, “this trip is something I will never forget. As a result, I was able to widen my scope on this era and form my own opinion of this time. I had the opportunity to speak and shake hands with people who changed history.”
“This was my fourth class with Professor Balkaran, and it was an experience that I could’ve never imagined,” added Cook.