A Trip Through Time
Gary James ’10 - For the past few months, my classmates and I have been learning about African-American rhetoric and expressive culture. With Dr. David Timmerman and Dr. Timothy Lake, the ten of us have delved into the various issues concerning aspects of speech and expression among African-Americans over time. We have read about sermonic form, political ideographs, and the rhetoric of humor, while analyzing the works of Jarena Lee, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and President Barack Obama. This exploration has led us onto a journey through the Deep South during a time of celebration and remembering. Our immersion trip coincides with the 44th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) led a voting registration and organizing campaign in Selma, Alabama.
While in Selma, and throughout our travels to Montgomery, Birmingham, and Memphis, we will visit historic sites of the Civil Rights Movement and attend various festivals, summits, and ceremonies, including the Foot Soldier’s Pray Breakfast, a southern Step Show, an Intergenerational Hip-Hop Summit, and a Bridge Crossing Re-enactment at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Each day a different student will offer his perspective of the day’s events. He will explain what he has learned, and share his feeling about his experiences in this region of the United States