• Civil Rights Tour offers students an alternative spring break experience

    Civil Rights TourThis week is spring break here at Baylor, so it’s pretty quiet around campus right now. Most students are out on traditional spring break activities — at home with families, away on mission trips, that sort of thing — but at least one group is doing something a little different.

    A total of 17 students and four faculty/staff members are on a week-long “Civil Rights Tour,” trekking across the South in what amounts to a classroom on wheels. Already the group has attended a historically African American church in Memphis, toured the National Civil Rights Museum, and visited with one of Ole Miss’ first African American students. Before returning to Waco, the tour will have visited eight cities in five states (not including Texas).

    While traveling between cities, the groups are also having some very frank discussions on some of the race issues that face America today. Both students and faculty are sharing their experiences and journaling their thoughts online at baylorcivilrightstour.blogspot.com. Given some of the questions that arose leading up to the Presidential election last fall and the historic election of the nation’s first African American president, this seems like an excellent time to be able to take a trip like this.

    Sic ’em, Civil Rights tour takers!