‘The things I learned will stay with me’

Last month, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., a group of Clark students spent the weekend in Memphis, Tennessee, visiting the very spot where King was assassinated in 1968, touring the National Civil Rights Museum, and visiting with Clark alumni who live in the city.

The weekend was one in a series of trips, known as Clark Inspired Experiences (CIE), designed to give students a closer look at the fight for civil rights and justice in the United States. Later this month, a group will visit Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama, the sites of historic civil rights protests, and in March, during spring break, students will visit Canada to learn more about the Underground Railroad. During the fall semester, students traveled to Washington, D.C., where they visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture and met with several alumni, including Shawnasia Black ’08, MSCP ’09, co-leader of the Clark Black Alumni Association.

Letisha Amuwo, executive assistant in Clark’s Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise, who accompanied the students to Washington, said the city was the perfect environment to highlight “strong pride in the Black contributions intersecting in a hub of artistic expression, entrepreneurial ambition, and opportunity.”

The experiences are supported by the D’Army Bailey ’65 Diversity Fund. Bailey, a longtime civil rights activist, spearheaded the creation of the National Civil Rights Museum.

The CIE series takes its name from the University’s Strategic Framework, Clark Inspired, which includes Clark’s aim “to be a relentless force for positive change in the world,” said Henry Chambers, associate director of DEI education and training in the Office of Human Resources and Organizational Excellence.

“If we want Clark students to ‘challenge convention’ and ‘change our world,’ we must provide them opportunities to engage in the world we want them to change — this has been the ethos driving the development of the Clark Inspired Experiences,” Chambers said. “It’s also been successful in engaging our alumni — the students learn about the great things our alumni have accomplished and continue to accomplish, and the alumni get to hear about current campus life.”

The CIE Memphis trip began with a tour of the city led by Carolyn Michael-Banks ’79, owner of A Tour of Possibilities, which offers tours with a focus on the history of and contributions made by African Americans in the largest city on the Mississippi River.

“I enjoy sharing the richness of Memphis’ history,” Michael Banks said, “and it meant so much more having Clark students on board. I was so excited to be part of their journey. 

“I wish the Clark Inspired Experience had existed when I attended Clark,” she added. “The education of our students outside of the classroom is priceless.”

Students also met with Justin Bailey ’00, D’Army’s son, and Vaughn Thompson ’97.

Meeting the Clark alumni was a highlight for the students. “It was great to see how much they have excelled in their fields of work and how much they still care about the Clark community,” said Prasta Pokhrel ’25. “We had meaningful conversations.

“The tour of Memphis was very enlightening — the Civil Rights Museum even more so,” Pokhrel added. “I learned so much about things I had not heard of or that had been skimmed over in my textbooks.”

Those topics included Memphis’ role in the women’s suffrage movement and the 1968 strike of sanitation workers, memorialized by the “I Am a Man” monument that is a key stop on Michael-Banks’ tour.

Camille Sterling ’25 agreed that the trip had a significant impact. “I have a Southern family that I was able to text and receive first-hand accounts that connected with the displays I was seeing. The trip encouraged me to come back and bring my grandmother to see for herself.”

“I feel more connected to the Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King Jr.,” Tamara De Groot ’25 said, “not just because I learned more about his legacy in the museum, but also because of the conversations that took place in the groups. For instance, I learned about my friend’s grandmother’s experience during the Civil Rights Movement. Sharing these stories allows Dr. King’s goals and legacy to be accurately represented.”

The National Civil Rights Museum was founded at the site of the Lorraine Motel, where King was killed on April 4, 1968. “Standing in the room where he was assassinated was jarring — but impactful,” Sterling said.

Added Rosleyry Rosario ’25, “The things I learned on this trip will stay with me.”