Left to right: Jacob Dowler '19, Lux Haney-Jardine '19, English instructor Joe Dalton, Wyatt Gildea '19, Kobi Selby '19, and Zack Grella '19
Mississippi Trip Surpasses Expectations
Greenies learn more about race relations in Deep South education
Joe Dalton was one road-weary teacher Monday. The English instructor estimates that he drove more than 24 hours last week. Dalton said that every highway mile was worth it to transport five boys to Christ School's first out-of-state service project for the school year.
Jacob Dowler '19, Lux Haney-Jardine '19, Wyatt Gildea '19, Kobi Selby '19, and Zack Grella '19 learned more about the history of race relations in southern education during the trip. They were also challenged to think about how the country, as a whole, moves forward.
First, the Greenies attended the unveiling of a historical marker for the Macedonia Rosenwald School in Batesville, Mississippi. Kobi, who was a featured speaker for a program held Thursday and Friday that delved into the African-American school's history, delivered an address to 75 attendees.
"For me, there was so much history I did not know," said Dalton. "And I thought it was particularly moving that we got to learn these things about America from people who it happened to. There were a few times where the older gentlemen would point themselves out in photos. When Kobi got up to speak, the crowd was so positive for him. It was really a cathartic moment."
From there, Dalton and the boys attended a symposium Saturday at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. A panel of six professionals discussed the resegregation of schools, the disparity of ratings in white and black schools, and the disproportionate amount of money sent to high-property tax schools versus low-property tax schools.
On the way home, Greenies stopped off in Memphis, where they got to tour the National Civil Rights Museum. The museum, which was built around the Lorraine Motel, is where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968. "The guys looked on in awe at the balcony that escaped the ravages of time," Dalton wrote in an e-mail to Christ School constituents.
Jacob and Wyatt are the founding members of Christ School's Social Justice Club, while Zack documented the trip with photos and video. Dalton will make a video presentation to the Christ School community during Friday morning's assembly.
