Sojourn to the Past: A Social Justice and Civil Rights Educational Program

Civic and Social OrganizationsCalifornia, United States2-10 Employees

Sojourn to the Past is a unique, transformative, and empowering academic immersion program that takes middle school students, 11th and 12th graders, and college students on a moving journey along the path of the Civil Rights Movement through the American South.

The academic Sojourn to the Past experience brings the lessons of our shared American history to life. Sojourn’s holistic educational approach incorporates music, text and video into a rigorous curriculum that introduces students to historical sites, monuments and museums. Most importantly, students are able to interact the foot soldiers of the Movement themselves. These speakers include United States Congressman John Lewis and members of the Little Rock Nine, who like the students, were young when they took up the cause for social change. To date, more than 6,000 students and teachers have participated in over sixty journeys.

Sojourn to the Past has received several awards for the transformative experience it offers students. Among the honors: THE PRESIDENT’S COMMITTEE ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES YOUTH PROGRAM AWARD, THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION CARTER G. WOODSON MEMORIAL AWARD, THE CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD, and THE CORETTA SCOTT KING A.N.G.E.L. (Advancing Nonviolence through Generations of Exceptional Leadership) AWARD.

With racially motivated and hate-based crime on the rise, Sojourn is significant, not only for its historical and educational value, but, more importantly, for the burgeoning recognition of responsibility our students acquire as a result of their experience. In turn, our students put the lessons they learn from the Movement into practice in their schools and communities. We foster learning that helps create a more civil society: free of discrimination, violence, hatred, bigotry, and inequity.

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