Grateful for this powerful reflection from Kiana Scott, Ph.D. Honored to learn and move from education to action alongside folks like her. History matters—and we won’t stop telling it. 🖤 #CommonPower #TruthAndPurpose #EducationToAction
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I spent six days in Atlanta, Montgomery, Birmingham, and Selma this past week, digging into the modern Civil Rights Movement on a Truth and Purpose Learning Tour through The Institute for Common Power. Our group began our time together as a collection of strangers and colleagues, and ended deeply connected and deeply motivated. Thanks to the incredible--really truly incredible--teaching of Institute leaders, we dove deep into historical and contemporary realities of race and voting justice. We spent time talking with Civil Rights-era leaders, and learned from people who are leading the fight for justice in their communities today. In so many ways, this trip was a profound learning experience for all of us who participated. And I can't stop thinking about the empty Freedom Riders National Monument visitor center in Anniston, Alabama, or the National Parks Service's Selma Interpretive Center at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which is "closed for major construction" and impossible to imagine reopening anytime soon. As we stood in front of a building-sized mural of John Lewis on Auburn Ave in Atlanta, a site with tremendous historic significance, we found out that the National Endowment for the Humanities is being gutted. History--recent history--is being erased and buried in front of our eyes. The Institute is fighting to tell the stories of American history, where it happened, and with context and connection. They bring people together to face where we have come from and what we have overcome to give shape to where we need to go. Their goal, always, is to move from education to action. As education and truth is under direct and explicit attack, we need organizations like the Institute to continue sharing this history. To learn more about The Institute for Common Power and their incredible array of learning opportunities, check out their website: https://lnkd.in/gpyXVMhi And if you want to get engaged with their work, which is truly extraordinary, I'd love to talk. Their work is essential.