EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin (WEAU) – For the past 12 years, groups of UW Eau Claire students have taken a trip south to learn more about the civil rights movement, but the pandemic has had to change things a little this year.
“We lost some of the experience of being able to touch the story, which is so important, but we’ve had some really cool ways to get involved,” said Jodi Thesing-Ritter, Executive Director for Diversity and Inclusion at UWEC.
Instead of a 10-day trip through states like Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee to learn more about the civil rights movement, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Thesing Knights to get creative.
“It’s a five-day virtual experience, but we’re keeping the course open for the entire semester so people can access the footage. We also have videos and articles,” she says.
She says 112 students usually go on the trip each year, but this year they also opened the virtual experience to the whole community and more than 270 people took part.
The program allows you to see the civil rights movement through the eyes of the people who live during that time.
“We were also able to learn across generations because we have retired parishioners and some families do this with their children,” says Thesing-Ritter.
According to Thesing-Ritter, canceling the trip entirely this year was never an option.
Student coordinators for the trip like Franchesca Riley say this will help put last year’s social justice movements in perspective.
“Especially with 2020, I think the most important thing is to understand that the past correlates with today’s and to understand that there is something to be learned there,” she says.
Riley hopes that the community learns alongside them and inspires someone to make change in their community.
“I want many people to understand that you don’t need to make big changes to the bigger picture. It starts in your community and starts with you and your family.”
Learning from the past to create a better tomorrow for everyone.
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