Thanks to a generous donor, fifty-two members of the Epiphany family (including the entire 8th grade) traveled to Montgomery, Alabama this winter to tour the Legacy Museum, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the homes of both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, and the Brown Chapel AME Baptist Church, where the Selma to Montgomery voting rights march began. Taken together, these sites teach the story of Black people in America, and students and chaperones alike were deeply touched and impressed by the photographs, testimony, immersive exhibits, and sculptures.
Perhaps the most moving moment took place at the National Monument to Freedom, a 43-foot-tall, 155-foot-long terracotta-colored wall that lists the last names of over 122,000 formerly enslaved people from the 1870 census, the first to record the names of slaves as individual people in their own right. The wall has an app that can help you find the name of your ancestor. It was incredible seeing members of our community searching for an ancestor and smiling when they found a name to honor and celebrate. It was indeed an occasion to acknowledge the resilience, strength, and power of Black Americans.
On this trip, Epiphany graduates and teachers served not only as chaperones but also as sounding boards as students reacted to what they learned. Every evening, students journaled about their experiences and met in small discussion groups. “The Edmund Pettus Bridge was the most memorable. I felt empowered with spiritual energy. All I could think about were Dr. King’s famous words I have a dream which echoed in my head throughout the walk across the bridge,” wrote Makai. “Even though he stood there all those years ago, his aura, his presence, still made an impact that was life-changing.” Another student, Kayden, shared that “Alabama changed me… I saw pain and suffering. I saw perseverance, I saw people helping others. I saw resilience.” Isabella wrote, “This museum was important to me because I learned that even though the world was giving Black people every reason to give up, they didn’t, and they used their challenges to build strength.”
Finding strength in overcoming challenges (and in one another) is what our community is all about. Our students are inspired by the Episcopal tradition and its emphasis on social justice and human dignity, and we are grateful to the National Association of Episcopal Schools for the work they do to help schools like ours better live out our missions for the benefit of the children and families we serve.