Eighth grade Civil Rights Trip
above: Leah Harrison-Lurie '16 and Maddie Lee '16 returned to Gordon last spring to talk with faculty about the profound impact the Civil Rights Trip has had on their high school experiences
Gordon’s Civil Rights Trip is the culmination of a social justice curriculum that begins in Gordon’s youngest grades, and it’s an experience that has shaped the lives of hundreds of Gordon graduates since 2002.
Over four days, they visit historic sites in Georgia and Alabama, and meet with people who are making change in the present day. On their return to Rhode Island, students start making positive change in their own communities, partnering with local agencies in a full time, four-week service learning project.
The itinerary has been different every year. It has always included the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, an extended tour of Selma, and a visit to at least one historically Black college or university.
Since 2016, Gordon has met with representatives of Bryan Stevenson's Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, and toured the National Memorial for Peace and Justice every year since it opened in 2018.
The 2023 trip
The twenty-second Civil Rights Trip began at 4am on Monday, April 17th. Students traveled to Atlanta, Montgomery and Selma over the next four days.
Stops this year included a meeting with voting rights advocates from the New Georgia Project, who generously shared their time as they work to support access to voting in the wake of the 2020 election.
Stops this year included a meeting with voting rights advocates from the New Georgia Project, who generously shared their time as they work to support access to voting in the wake of the 2020 election.
New stops this year included a tour of Montgomery that integrates some frequently overlooked sites from Black history in Montgomery.
Updates from the trip were posted to Gordon's Facebook and Instagram over the course of each day, and a daily wrapup was posted to Gordon's blog each night (and linked from this page).
Updates from the trip were posted to Gordon's Facebook and Instagram over the course of each day, and a daily wrapup was posted to Gordon's blog each night (and linked from this page).
2023 notes from the blog
2023: day one
Notes on day one
Including:
• Morehouse College
• A tour of Montgomery's hidden history
• The Anarcha Lucy Betsey Monument
2023: day two
Notes on day two
Including:
• Southern Poverty Law Center
• Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church
• Dexter Parsonage
• The First Baptist Church's Caring Center
2023: day three
Notes on day three
Including:
• The Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum
• The National Memorial for Peace and Justice
• Selma with Ms. Lynda Lowery
2023: day four
Notes on day four
Including:
• The New Georgia Project
• A surprise at the CNN Center
2022 notes from the blog
2022: day one
Notes on day one
Including:
• Alabama State University
• Montgomery’s Rosa Parks Museum
• A debrief on the Capitol lawn
2022: day three
Notes on day three
Including:
• The National Memorial for Peace and Justice
• The Equal Justice Initiative's Legacy Museum
• Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church
Stories from Gordon’s Civil Rights Trip
![Tomorrow is Election Day]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1699376242/gordonschoolorg/qb3qbf8u89hxaplyfdrq/electionday350.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1699376242/gordonschoolorg/qb3qbf8u89hxaplyfdrq/electionday350.jpg","width":350}])
If an eighth grader asks you if you voted, you'll want to be able to say "yes"
![Day four of the 2023 Civil Rights Trip]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1682433997/gordonschoolorg/ez8nx7y8ulx0fdbbavik/newgeorgia350_1.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1682433997/gordonschoolorg/ez8nx7y8ulx0fdbbavik/newgeorgia350_1.jpg","width":350}])
A morning with the New Georgia Project, and a surprise
![Day three of the 2023 Civil Rights Trip]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1681963733/gordonschoolorg/mlvilfm3fzvkv5u2d5mh/daythree350.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1681963733/gordonschoolorg/mlvilfm3fzvkv5u2d5mh/daythree350.jpg","width":350}])
Montgomery to Selma to Atlanta
A look at how the trip has become part of the Gordon experience:
2022 A daily diary of the twenty-first annual trip
2021 A daily diary of the twentieth annual trip
2020 A daily diary of the nineteenth annual trip
2019 A daily diary of the eighteenth annual trip
2018 A daily diary of the seventeenth annual trip
2018 A recent graduate joins Lynn Bowman to discuss the trip on WPRO 630AM
2017 Eighth graders and alumni at Bryan Stevenson's presentation in Providence
2017 A daily diary of the sixteenth annual trip
2016 A daily diary of the fifteenth annual trip
2015 A daily diary, and a scrapbook of the media coverage surrounding the fiftieth anniversary of the march from Selma to Montgomery
2014 The trip, in word and photos
2013 Reports from day one, day two and day three, and a look at the trip's role in the Gordon experience
2012 A day-by-day diary of the 2012 trip
2011 A short film shows how the trip fits into the eighth grade year
2010 Joanne Bland to come to Gordon for Commencement
2010 Virtual postcards from a second grade teacher
2009 US Rep John Lewis: "Take them to the South"
2009 Video of students presenting the final projects
2008 Catching up with Joanne Bland