– Students from the SEED School in Baltimore did not arrive here venting outrage against Donald Trump’s war on their futures. They’re teenagers.
But their four-day trip to the cradle of the civil rights movement hinted at what they and the country now face. Learning about the slave trade that once flourished along the Alabama River, the terror of lynch mobs, the Montgomery bus boycott, and the Birmingham church bombing frightened and angered them. They left woke to danger.
At the same time, the photos, videos, news accounts, and memorials the students saw showed that resistance can produce progress. Veterans of earlier struggles counseled equanimity.
“Where we are now is not all that different from where we’ve been,” said Ann Clemons, the students’ 74-year-old tour guide. “The good news is knowing we can survive and overcome.” …. more
