More than 2,000 miles from The Bluff, the group walked into a room in Birmingham, Alabama. They heard shouts of racial slurs, including the N-word, through overhead speakers. They saw an illuminated Klu Klux Klan robe in the corner.
Further along, a display showed two water fountains. One fountain, labeled “white,” stood tall, clean and properly functioning, while the other, labeled “colored,” was rust-stained.
These were the sights and sounds of exhibits in the Civil Rights Institute that a group of University of Portland students visited while on the Civil Rights Immersion, sponsored by UP’s Moreau Center for Service and Justice.
Last May, these twelve students and two chaperones on the Civil Rights Immersion traveled through the American South. The goal was to learn about historical events of the Civil Rights Movement and the evolution of racism from past to present in the United States.
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Today, racially and ethnically-based hate crimes are on the rise. According to an analysis of FBI hate crime statistics by California State University, hate crimes spiked the day after President Trump won the election.
Some argue that the increase in hate crimes is related to Trump’s policies and language relating to people of color.
The group studied the events and issues by engaging with locals to learn from their perspective. They also visited historical monuments and museums, like The Legacy Museum, The Emmett Till Interpretive Center and Little Rock Central High School, throughout Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas.
The immersion programs have the intention of showing students a common humanity. According to Tshombe Brown, program manager for community partnerships in the Moreau Center and one of the chaperones on the immersion.
“To be really supportive where we are both learning, there has to be a mutuality,” Brown said. “We are approaching each other as equals and recognizing the assets that already exist.”