Room 2128

At the International Civil Rights Museum in North Carolina, it really hit me that I was on the Civil Rights Trip! I was on a trip that had the reputation of changing people's lives and perspectives. As I watched the invisible threads of the flag being revealed, I began to feel alone. I lived in country that essentially wasn't built for me. Then as I walked through the Hall of Shame, I saw pictures of lynching’s and burnings; however, I was shocked to see a cross burning from as recent as 1980. I realized that I lived in a false reality because I thought that we had evolved from things like that. Whose to say there isn't a burning or lynching in 2015?

Some of that hurt and disappointment dissipated as we reached “room 2128" of A&T. When we first saw the dorms, I thought of my mother who graduated from there eons ago. Eventually I began to think about these four FRESHMEN that began this movement, kids that were only a year or even a couple months older than me now.

Later on during the tour, our guide mentioned that despite the several instances of “rebellion", there were no arrests. These movements were respectful, well organized with definite plans and they got results! Not just any results, but legislation that has impacted several generations for decades. That's the difference between then and now. Ferguson resulted only violent protests; maybe that's why nothing has happened to resolve these problems.

Nyasha Wills 

12th Grade, City College