MIAMI – A group of South Florida students stepped into history, visiting some of the most iconic sites of the civil rights movement in a spring break expedition.
The tour for students in Miami-Dade, now in its fourth year, is designed to inspire the next generation of changemakers.
Participants got to embark on a trip that will hold meaning for a lifetime.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Oliver Gilbert has spearheaded the trip.
“Last year when we went to the African-American History Museum, the kids cried,” Gilbert said.
For Gilbert, this is heart-first work, giving kids exposure to things outside of just their environment.
Last year, the focus was on Washington, D.C., democracy and culture.
This year, the tour focused on the civil rights period, with stops in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.
In Memphis, they visited the historic Lorraine Motel, the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. They also walked in history, crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, and made some college stops along the way, just to name a few.
“Being able to show them the things that are just in this country, show them the halls of Congress, show them the congressional library, show them the monuments so that they have a place reference for the things they are hearing about,” Gilbert said. “It expands their horizon in a way that I know will enrich their lives.”
A total of 50 kids went on the expedition.
The theme for the trip changes every year. The tour is in such demand that Gilbert said he aims to add a few extra spots every year, expanding minds one opportunity at a time.
“I want to show them where history is made. Sometimes we take for granted the exposure that we have as adults that they will have eventually,” he said. “I want to help them know how we got where we are and that will help them be pioneers of where we are going.”