Borrowing Ideas and Finding Inspiration on the Civil Rights Journey

The following blog was written by Stephanie Hanway, of Laramie, Wyo., while participating in UUSC's annual Freedom Summer: A Civil Rights Journey. She is 18 years old.

I came on this trip clueless. When we were in Selma, I was scared to get off the bus, thinking it was Salem [where the witch trials took place]. I also grew up thinking Georgia was the capitol of Alabama, when both are states.

What drew my attention to this trip was the chance to travel; however, that is not entirely why I continue. It has been my blessing not only to travel in the present, but also to travel in the past and experience history.

Because I am Arapahoe, Native American, slavery is not part of my heritage. That's not to say that I can't take something from the civil rights movement to help my people, my country, and myself — just like Martin Luther King, Jr., was inspired by Gandhi.

If there is any hope for me to one day help my people, I must first find that hope in myself. And that is what this trip has guided me towards.

Race, gender, age, and class are all part of a puzzle. And not to look at it is not to solve it. The first step in fighting any oppression is not just knowing where we stand, but allowing everyone else to know it, as well. Being of an outside minority has allowed me to see the same things, but from a different perspective.

It is an honor to thank the program for instilling this seed of knowledge in me to aspire to grow more bountifully, both inside and out. The greatest thing that I appreciate from this trip is the way I was invited, rather than pushed, through the doors of history. One can only remember so much in a classroom, but one remembers so much of her own personal experiences.

This truly was a journey, in itself.