Civil Rights Movement Seminar

VISION

Spring Break 2025

Duration: 7 days, Monday - Sunday, Spring Break 2025 (March 10 - March 16)

Contact: Dr. Ivy George (ivy.george@gordon.edu)

SOC292: Civil Rights Movement Seminar (4 credits)

This seminar examines the role of place and social movements through the lens of race relations between white and black populations in shaping the movement of American democracy and culture in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The reverberations of these civil rights movements continue in American politics and culture into the twenty-first century.  

Students will visit historic sites of resistance and victory in churches, educational institutions, and legal advocacy centers. They will travel to rural and urban communities where historical figures like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, John Lewis were actively involved in organizing resistance movements. Students will also visit the Equal Justice Initiative work being undertaken by Bryan Stevenson. Fulfills Sociology minor elective; Black Studies minor elective.

LOCATION

Louisiana

• Whitney Plantation

Mississippi

• Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
• Medgar Evers home 
• Emmett Till, Fannie Lou Hamer sites

Tennessee

• National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel

Alabama

• Kelly Ingram Park
• 16th Ave Street Baptist Church
• Birmingham Civil Rights Institute 
• Edmund Pettus Bridge 
• Dexter Avenue Baptist Church   
• Southern Poverty Law Center
• Rosa Parks Museum 
• National Memorial for Peace and Justice
• Tuskegee University 

Georgia  

• National Civil Rights Museum 
• Martin Luther King Jr., National Historic Site 
• Center for Civil and Human Rights
• Sunday service at Ebenezer Baptist Church

CURRICULUM

Preparation for the seminar will begin in January 2025. The group will meet on Zoom once a week for 1.5 hours to discuss assigned readings and films. Each week, the professor will provide a writing prompt based on the materials covered. Students will submit a three-page double-spaced reflection weekly until the tour commences in March. At the end of the seminar, students will submit a three-page summary report.

COST

The total cost will be approximately $2,700* and will include:

• Airfare (roundtrip from Boston)
• Tour Guide
• Accommodations
• Meals
• Transport and site fees

APPLICATION

Students from all majors are invited to apply.

General requirements:

• 2.5 overall GPA
• Sophomore standing or above
• Complete online application
• Interview with Dr. George
• $35 application fee

Upon acceptance to the program, a non-refundable program deposit of $450 will be due to confirm participation.

Application Deadline: November 1, 2024

Contact: Professor Ivy George