Interterm Students Apply Civil Rights Learning

Sophomore Omar Gonzalez (second from left) returned from his Civil Rights Interterm trip to North Carolina with a new appreciation for the power of nonviolence, particularly impressed by the stories he learned of Martin Luther King Jr. and others from the Civil Right Movement who used nonviolence to respond to hatred directed at them. And it gives him pause to think about his own life.

As a person of Hispanic heritage, Omar feels accepted at Bethany and in the Goshen community. However, he does recall a few instances in which he was a victim of racism, when he and his mostly Hispanic travel soccer team were taunted by opposing teams. He says, “Our first reaction was to fight back, but our coach encouraged us not to. We listened, but I didn’t fully understand why. Now I do.”

Peace Muhagachi (third from right in back), a sophomore from Tanzania, has been reading about the American Civil Rights Movement since a young age—and listening to the music of singer and Civil Rights activist Nina Simone. Visiting civil rights sites where events she had previously read about actually happened proved a powerful and emotional experience for her as she internalized and personalized her learning.

And she pushed her classmates to do so also. While learning about literacy tests that were intended to disenfranchise African Americans from voting, she suggested the class take one of the literacy tests. They did; and all failed—including their teacher.

As they journeyed to the south, both Omar and Peace noticed greater evidence of white supremacists, seeing more Confederate flags and hateful bumper stickers on vehicles. Peace notes that racist attitudes are not new but more openly visible given the current political climate. This visible openness made Omar feel uncomfortable, and he realized that perhaps discrimination does extend to him even though he rarely feels it.

Both Omar and Peace are grateful they don’t regularly experience the kind of racism and discrimination they studied. Peace especially appreciates that “people at Bethany have been very welcoming and accepting of me and my culture, which helped me feel more comfortable despite some obvious differences.” While Peace doesn’t recall personally experiencing racial discrimination since coming to the U.S., she does encounter preconceived notions that Africans are poor and uneducated—a perception she hopes to help change as she continues to make new friends and share about her life and culture in Tanzania.