Civil Rights Activist Meets with Huntington Students
Bernice Sims, a civil rights era activist with first-hand knowledge of one of the most tumultuous period in American history, visited with Huntington High School students last week.
"Our class had the rare opportunity to engage in living history and spend some time with Ms. Sims," English teacher Kelly Quintero said. "She lived through the time period we are studying and offered a first hand account of Mississippi in the days of Jim Crow. The students appreciated her account of the Freedom Riders' experiences, as well life in the Freedom Schools."
The Huntington students who participated in the visit are enrolled in related dual courses. Ms. Quintero teaches African-American Literature and social studies teacher Jordan Gould leads African-American Politics.
It was Mr. Gould who reached out to Ms. Sims and invited the legend to come to Huntington High School. "I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the school and speaking with the students," Ms. Sims said. "I was really impressed with how well prepared they were about the civil rights movement. Their questions and interaction was appropriate and timely. I hope that the students continue to educate themselves from some of the additional bibliographical material that I submitted. I also hope that the students will not take for granted the right to vote. I hope that they will remember that it was a monumental effort made in the 60's that had a tremendous effect on all of our lives today."
"I am thoroughly impressed with the dedication of the two instructors, Ms. Quintero and Mr., Gould, and their students, in taking on very challenging topics within these two courses and, in effect, not only learning, but growing from the discussions, debates and airing of topics that often are not spoken about," said Joseph Leavy, district director of humanities.
The dual courses are "blocked" together in what amounts to a "creative scheduling option that has enabled us to link the learning experience for the students in an intentional way that allows for seminar-style discussion, extended expert visits, and ultimately, variations on the approaches the instructors take to the interaction between the content of the two courses," Mr. Leavy said.
Ms. Sims' visit was a powerful experience for the teenagers, who were able to put a real "face" on events they have been studying. "Her story was able to give me a visual experience of what was going on during the civil right movement" senior Andrew Neter said. "I personally don't believe I would have been able to go through with the non-violent passive resistance. I would definitely have fought back physically. It was cool to finally meet someone who actually dealt with the situation and not have to read about it in a text book."
The visit was a genuine learning experience for senior Shanice Neal. "Ms. Sims quoted from the Gettysburg Address about the 'proposition that all men are created equal,'" Ms. Neal said. "This changed my perspective on equality. It makes me want to cherish and hold onto it, because it is mine!"
Ms. Sims hopes the message of her visit will have a lasting impact on the Huntington teenagers. "I want them to remember that many sacrificed their lives for freedoms that many take for granted," she said. "I would like them to revisit some of the documents that formed the foundation for our standard of living, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, our constitutional amendments, etc. I hope that they will remember the hard lessons of the past and learn from them. They should also understand that those who made those sacrifices were motivated by a love for their fellow man and this country; A love so strong that they were willing to die so that others may continue to live. Our legacy to them is to try to live a better life and become better citizens. We owe them that much so that their lives were not lost in vain."
The African-American Literature course was recently approved by the NCAA. This allows Huntington students to apply the credit earned for completing the class toward NCAA requirements for incoming student-athletes. African-American Politics is now making its way through the same rigorous approval process.