Today was the first day of the 2014 spring civil rights trip. We started the trip by traveling to Greensboro, North Carolina and visiting The International Civil Rights Museum. I entered the museum feeling really excited to learn more about the Greensboro Four and about all of the many other incredible activists involved in the civil rights movement. I left the museum feeling like I was going to be one of the next incredible activists involved in a civil rights movement. The museum had extremely sad exhibits like the photographs of Emmett Till and his family. It also had really inspiring exhibits like the projection of the Greensboro Four deciding that they were not going to take the mistreatment anymore and they were going to take a stand. The museum took us on a time machine, starting back in the time when the racist abuse was at it's worst, and thousands of brave, wonderful people, decided to fight for what was right. The time machine then took us to the present, and opened the doors for us to step out and begin to make a difference of our own, just like all of those who came before us.
I used to think that I was too young to make a difference in this big, big, world, but now I see that I was all wrong. My age doesn't matter. I can step up and follow what I believe in. I can make a change. I can start my own movement. I can be like the Greensboro Four. And just like Joseph McNeil said in his speech at Park High School on March 12, 2014, I do not have to ask for permission.
Jaida Collins
City Neighbors High School
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