Today, we left the Quality Inn after a conversation about our group dynamic. The day before, we had a long conversation about it because there were mixed opinions about comfort level in the group. I think we are making progress. This seemed evident as we had a big dance party/sing along tonight in the bus that most people participated in. 

  We arrived at the Medgar Wiley Evers' house. He was shot by Byron De La Beckwith right outside of his own home. A bullet went straight through him and into the house, through the window, hitting the fridge, ricocheting off of it, and landing on the counter, sliding under a watermelon on it. I found that I could identify with this landmark better than others since that was the original house that was standing when Medgar Evers was killed. I didn't have to imagine the scene as much like other places, such as imagining what happened when seeing the remains of Bryant's Grocery later that day. (This was the grocery store where Emmett Till was said to be flirting with a white woman.) Going back to the house, we could also see bloodstains along the sidewalk where Evers crawled toward the stairs. I couldn't believe that there are people still living around monuments such as  this house and Bryant's Grocery. These events were hateful, terrible, and tragic and shouldn't have happened. 

I wonder how these events impact the people living nearby. Do they seem not to care? If they did, they'd probably be haunted by the fact that these events happened or felt endangered and would have left. I found it interesting that before we got off the bus to the Evers' house, the woman next door came out of her house and rolled out of her driveway. She was black and wasn't too young. I'm still wondering about that woman and what she thinks. 

After the house, we drove to Tougaloo College. We heard memories of the Civil Rights Movement from two activists: Flonzie Wright Brown and Hollis Watkins. What I enjoyed the most with them is singing Freedom songs with them. It reminds me of what Barbara Mines had spoken about revolting to the jail keepers and kept singing "Freedom Songs" when she was arrested because of her participation in the Children's March.  

After hearing them speak, we watched a short video about Upgrade Mississippi, which I thought didn't really talk about Upgrade Mississippi as much as I expected. But either way, we were able to asks questions. It turns out that they have three programs: one about education, one about civic engagement and one about health. They also build community gardens like a non profit in Baltimore called Dayspring, which has a sub program called Dayspring Gardens. It was cool to see this connection between Baltimore and Mississippi. The name seemed to be pretty cool too because the speaker related all of us as phones. We all pretty much have the same purpose in life, like phones all have the same purpose, however each generation of a phone changes because of their functions, meaning we can evolve our ways of helping the community. 

Afterwards, we had a brief college tour, checking out the church which is considered a historical site, as well as a mansion there. I remember liking the aura of the place as I was walking around. It was nice and calm. Once we hit the parking lot, it was interesting to watch the stepping. It was pretty cool to observe. I found myself thinking that black fraternities and sororities have a different meaning compared to the white Greek life. It seemed that the steppers were honing on to their heritage of being black compared to the culture of white fraternities. 

We left Tougaloo College and drove to Bryant's Grocery and then to Sunflower County Freedom Project. I found that this was the most inspiring part of today. The Sunflower County Freedom Project is an after school and summer program that leads students on to the path of success for education and encouraging kids to fight for their civil rights. There is a 60% for kids to graduate from high school in Sunflower Country but an 97% - 100% chance of graduating high school if they are part of the program for a good period of time. Although it seemed to a be a beaten down building on the outside, it was so hopeful on the inside. I was so happy that the middle schoolers and high schoolers are not losing hope, even if they have less resources, they had a very small library, and have segregation in schools. They are all so smart, and I was so happy to be able to hang out with them for what little time we had. I would have hoped that we could talk to them longer and particularly ask them about their individual experiences. I wanted to compare my 11th grade life with theres. I hope that they will all thrive and be successful today and in their futures. I came in saying don't judge a book by its cover, and I feel like that is a good statement to describe Sunflower County Freedom Project.

   After buying some shirts, the dance party started and we headed to dinner at Chili's. I got this really good Rib Eye Burrito Bowl. We left and arrived at another Super 8 motel. I felt like I was energized today even though I am somewhat sleep deprived. I hope that I can keep that same energy tomorrow. I am looking forward to seeing Central High School.

Nina Feliciano, The Park School