0 Shares

Almost 50 years ago, the arrest of Rosa Parks and the bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., led 42,000 black citizens to walk to work and school to demand equality.This week, the Division of Student Life and the Diversity Action Team are offering students the opportunity to walk “a mile in their shoes.””We wanted to help folks focus on a significant time in our country, during the segregation of the South, as well as focusing on diversity,” said John Nichols, director of Driscoll Student Center. Nichols was involved in organizing the week-long event, “A Mile in Their Shoes,” which includes movies and panel discussions.The first event, the screening of “Mighty Times: The Rosa Parks Story,” was held Sunday night in Davis Auditorium and was followed by a small group discussion.”The discussions were really interesting,” said Karen Bensen, the director of Partners and Learning, who also came forward at the beginning of the year to coordinate the program. “Students are really curious about Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement. These are events that have forever changed our society.”A Civil Rights Movie Series will be shown on DU’s Channel 8 TV all week, which will feature movies such as “Do the Right Thing,” “Boycott,” “Get on the Bus,” “Malcolm X” and “The Color Purple.” “The Impact of Brown – Then and Now,” a panel discussion moderated by Emeritus Dean Dan Hoffman, a veteran of the Montgomery marches, will be held tonight at 6 p.m. at Sturm College of Law. The event, which will include media clips, will focus on the legal impact of the historical court decision Brown v. the Board of Education. There will be discussions and presentations later this week with civil rights veterans, as well as representatives from the New Hope Baptist Church and the Spirituals Project to discuss the role of the church in the civil rights movement.On Thursday, members of the DU community are invited to walk a mile to work. Participants will meet at designated parking lots located approximately one mile from campus and walk together. Campus residents will have a mile walk marked on campus.The events are sponsored by the Veterans of Hope, Iliff School of Theology, AUSA Senate, Campus Activities, Center for Multicultural Excellence, College of Law, Community Engagement and Service Learning, Driscoll Student Center, DUPB, Housing and Residential Education, the Office of Student Engagement and Persistence, Partners in Learning, Second Year Experience, Social Justice Living and Learning Community and the Student Life Division.

0 Shares