by Brooke Hall
As part of the second annual Martin Luther King immersion trip, 34 students, faculty and staff members spent the day Friday on an educational journey to Cincinnati. They stopped at Allen Temple Church, spent much of the day at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and enjoyed lunch at The Filson before returning to Columbus.
Shelley Arroyo, IU Columbus Assistant Director of Student Affairs, noted this year’s trip was even more intentional and structured than the inaugural MLK trip last year. Arroyo, who leads the excursion, aims to provide an engaging, eye-opening experience.
The first stop, Allen Temple Church, has an important place in history as part of the Underground Railroad. Felicia Garr, who leads the Community Education Coalition’s Black and Biracial Youth Initiative, awed the group with her performance of spiritual songs. In addition, Kevin Jones, IU Columbus Associate Professor of Management, shared an account of how the spiritual music and historic location remain significant in the context of today’s world.
The group then visited the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center where they enjoyed a self-guided tour of the exhibits and several multimedia displays. They also broke into smaller groups for reflection of what they were experiencing and what they’d learned. Many participants shared they were learning a lot about the history of slavery that they wouldn’t have otherwise known.
Arroyo added that an exhibit of modern-day slavery was especially poignant for some of the students. She said it was both eye-opening and challenging to see the profiles of current victims of human trafficking.
Outside the museum, the group found a display that included a piece of the Berlin Wall. Stephanie Serriere, IU Columbus Professor of Social Studies Education, gave an impromptu lesson on the significance of that unexpected but very important artifact.
This outing truly accomplished our goal of enlightening our students and exposing them to new experiences, insights and parts of history they may have never known about otherwise.
Shelley Arroyo, IU Columbus Assistant Director of Student Affairs
Arroyo added that she was also very pleased with the strong attendance, including faculty and staff representing several different IU Columbus divisions, as well as a handful of students from other parts of the Airpark Campus. Next year, she hopes to host an even bigger group!