A group of high school students sat still in the pews of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Tears filled their eyes as they listened to a speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr., at the 1963 funeral of four girls. The girls had died in this very church, when people who hated blacks set off a bomb.
The students were reliving history last week. They took part in Sojourn to the Past, a 10-day trip through the heart of the civil rights movement. The sojourners visit important landmarks and meet with veterans of the struggle for African-American equality.
"The mission is to increase tolerance, compassion and understanding," says Jeff Steinberg, a history teacher who created the program three years ago. "I want the students to understand what real courage is by seeing the places and meeting these normal, average people who took small steps of courage."
The journey begins in Washington, D.C., and moves south to six cities. Students meet civil rights leaders like King's colleague, Congressman John Lewis, and the father of a girl killed in the church bombing.
"This trip opened my heart up," said Christina Zenn-Mixon, 16, from San Francisco, California. "Seeing what my people went through hurts, but I have been moved and inspired by their tolerance and forgiveness."
Beyond the violence of racism, the sojourners discovered the power of language. "I don't want to be a silent witness anymore," said Tony Wright, 17, "listening to someone say hurtful things to others."
The kids heard King's funeral message and will carry it with them always: "You can't just stand on the sidelines in the midst of a mighty struggle for justice."