I wanted to tell you about some seventh and eighth graders I know.
This week about 40 middle schoolers from Manhattan Country School are in the southern part of Mississippi on a trip they have been planning since school started in the days after hurricaine Katrina. They were (like all of us) upset and angry about what they had seen, and they deeply wanted to make a difference. So, with their teachers they spent much of the fall coming up with a plan.
As s part of their social studies curriculum, the 7th and 8th grade classes at Manhattan Country School will travel to Mississippi to join the rebuilding effort after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Departing on April 1st, the group will volunteer at three schools, Central Elementary School in Pascagoula, MS; Gaston Point Elementary in Gulfport, MS; and Jefferson Davis School in Biloxi, MS. They will collaborate with the Heart of America Foundation to distribute books and assist with tutoring and literacy programs. At Jefferson Davis, which has taken in the students of the Nichols School after their building was destroyed by flooding, MCS students will work with the University of Southern Mississippi Center for Oral History and Cultural Exchange to collect oral histories of the Biloxi students.
Each year, the 7th and 8th grade classes create a project for Activism Week at MCS, addressing current issues and concerns in the world. Past projects have included community service with local non-profits and lobbying in Washington, DC and Albany. In their desire to help the people impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the students initiated and planned a trip to the Gulf area. They state in their appeal letter: "The MCS community has devoted itself to aiding others and fighting for what is right. We do not only have the ability to voice our opinions, but to have sympathy for others and the ability to change lives. We are taking a leading role in creating our world's future."
Here's the presentation they put together to convince people to support their plan:
They raise $40,000. I was impressed and not just because I know them and ended up buying a bunch of their bracelets.
And here they are getting ready to leave on Saturday morning:
Here's what they did the first day.
Our first day began, sunny and humid, at 7am when the kids decided it was time to get up. Since we were staying in the Jackson area for the day, we luckily did not have to rush out of the High Place. We had a nice breakfast, serenaded by Mitsuko, Siena, Tariq and others on the piano and drums. Then everyone got dressed in their sunday best and headed off to church. We were guests at the New Horizon Church, a nondenominational church that values inter-racial dialogue and has a strong youth ministry.
Amanda and Justy gave a short presentation to the whole congregation, telling a little about MCS and explaining our activism trip. They also presented Pastor Crudup with the check we had brought for them. We were warmly welcomed and the choir was amazing. We left them with a CD of MCS songs and "From dream to reality" t-shirts and bracelets.
After lunch, we piled back into the vans to go see the Smith Robertson Museum, housed in the first school building for black students in Mississippi and also Richard Wright's alma mater. We saw some powerful memorabilia from Mississippi's past, including a letter from the Klu Klux Klan, threatening to harm a black family if they didn't leave the neighborhood. The kids were stuck at how politely the letter had been written, as if someone might think it were acceptable to deliver such a message. There was also an African folk art exhibit and an exhibit tracing the history of blacks in Mississippi. We saw Richard Wright's 8th grade diploma, the only one he ever earned.
We're now back at The High Place, the kids are boating and playing games as dinner is prepared. Tomorrow we head off bright and early to our first school.
You can follow the rest of their trip on their blog:
Mississippi Activism Blog