Madison's Pre-Trip Blog

After watching the movie Selma, and reading and discussing supplemental articles about the Civil Rights Era, it is evident that this trip to Atlanta is a necessary one. Personally, my service connects directly to this movement, and is still affected by its efforts today. Tutoring inmates in the Department of Corrections has proven that civil injustices are still apparent in the form of mass incarceration. Additionally, my service at Anchor House relates to civil rights as well in the form of institutionalized racism and oppression. These factors have contributed to many of the youth at Anchor House and their families’ struggles and fights for basic necessities. With all of this, what I hope to gain from this trip to Atlanta is a more concrete look into the Civil Rights era in a historical perspective, but also how it is still present today. I want to speak to the people that live in the South, and hear about their experiences and own struggles with this oppression; even decades after the movement. I also hope to explore Atlanta’s culture, food, history, etc., to get more of a sense of how people there live, and the differences between Georgia and New Jersey; especially in the ways racism is present and oppression continues.