CCU students, profs join anniversary march on Washington
By Hephzibah Strmic-Pawl and students
Two Coastal Carolina University sociology professors and 20 students traveled to Washington, D.C., on Aug. 27 for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. The march was in honor of the original 1963 event when nearly 300,000 people gathered on the Mall to demand equal rights and push forward the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was also the historic day that civil rights leader Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech.
Deborah Perkins, associate professor of sociology, and Hephzibah Strmic-Pawl, assistant professor of sociology, accompanied the students.
"If hundreds of thousands of marginalized people could make it to D.C. from all over the country to march for equality, we certainly can spend the night in a van to honor them,” the students wrote.
"On the steps of Georgetown Law School, elders who participated in the march 50 years earlier were honored. They partnered with students from Alabama State in a symbolic passing of the torch to a new generation to continue the fight for justice and equality. We then marched alongside a diverse group of people for a mile and a half through downtown.
People from all generations marched, regardless of whether or not they could actually take the steps themselves; marchers pushed elder generations in wheelchairs and perched young children on their shoulders until we reached the mall.
Our last rally point was in front of the Lincoln Memorial where the original 1963 marchers also gathered to call for justice. There was a series of speeches delivered from a range of dignitaries and leaders.
We came away from the March with a range of emotions, thoughts and experiences. Raven Vaught, senior psychology major, realized that we’ve made progress but feels we still have a long way to go. Ali Cohen, junior education major, wondered what type of venues need to be created to foster conversation about creating change. Shawnte Posley, sophomore psychology major, reflected that if the 1960s generation could successfully counter what they went through, then we can definitely fight for equality now. And Bridget Kelly, senior sociology major, realized that we still do not live in a post racial world despite some of us not experiencing prejudice ourselves.
As we drove the seven hours back to Coastal Carolina University after the March, we all discussed what we would like CCU to do and to be to promote equality and justice. Many students reflected on their own student organizations and how those could be made more inclusive and more effective. Others thought about new courses they might want to take, including courses offered through the social justice concentration within the sociology major. And, importantly, there was inspiration for a new student organization, The Activism Initiative, which promotes an activist climate on campus by mobilizing already existing clubs who want to actively participate in fostering change."
The trip was sponsored and made possible by the Social Justice Research Initiative, the College of Science, and the Department of Psychology and Sociology.
