55 leave Friday for civil rights trip

For the fourth year in a row, students, faculty and staff will take a bus tour dubbed the "Civil Rights Immersion Trip" from Jan. 12 through 14 to Birmingham, Ala. \nThey are scheduled to visit civil rights landmarks, such as the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Kelly Ingram Park and the 16th St. Baptist Church.\nThe trip, sponsored by CommUNITY Education Program or CUE, is part of a week-long series of activities celebrating the life and contributions of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., according to the MLK Committee.\nThe trip will also highlight other civil rights leaders such as Rosa Parks, according to the CUE Web site.\nBarry Magee, assistant director for Diversity Education in the division of Residential Programs and Services, said that 55 students, faculty and staff will be attending the trip, with undergraduate students making up 80 percent of the participants. One high school student will be attending as well.\nSome participants on past trips had never been to the South or out of Indiana, Magee said.\nParticipants were asked to pay a $20 registration fee on a first come, first serve basis, he said. The trip was full by Dec. 20.\n"The registration fee covers the bus ride, hotel, entrance to museums and one meal -- a low cost due to all the sponsors that gave to the trip," Magee said. "Individuals will be responsible for other meals and anything else they wish to buy."\nParticipants will take part in "reflection sessions," discussions about the various topics they will learn throughout the trip. \nThe group will also watch movies related to civil rights struggles, such as "Eyes on the Prize," and "4 Little Girls."\nOne stop on the trip is the historical 16th St. Baptist Church, once a center of life for blacks in Alabama and a target of hate crimes by racist groups, according to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.\n"We will be visiting the 16th St. Baptist Church that has a history of being bombed," he said. "We will visit the jail where Martin Luther King, Jr. was held and Kelly Ingram Park," Magee said.\nJust talking about Martin Luther King, Jr. is a completely different feeling than actually standing in the church where he was a minister and gave his inspiring speeches, Magee said.\nThe trip has catered to a diverse body of students, faculty and staff since its inception.\nLast year a graduate student, who was not a U.S. citizen, participated in the 1989 protest in China's Tiananmen Square, attended the trip, Magee said. \n"We have had a number of white and Latino students," he said. "Diverse individuals bring different perspectives."\nDiscussions about civil rights generally cause people to think about African-Americans, but the group's diversity helps them understand struggles in other communities as well, Magee said.\n"Diversity brings richness to common struggle," he said.\nPrevious Civil Rights Immersion trips have visited Montgomery, Ala. and Memphis, Tenn.\nFor more information, visit the CommUNITY Education Program Web site at www.cue.indiana.edu or the MLK Committee Web site at www.indiana.edu/~mlkjr.