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Service-Learning Travel Projects
MLK Jr. Weekend Trip —Montgomery
Over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend 2016, the Bunting Center sponsored an overnight civil rights
themed project to Montgomery, Alabama. Students visited the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit
specializing in work on race and poverty and prison reform. Students also toured the Dexter Avenue
King Memorial Church where much of Montgomery’s early civil rights activity was directed and where
Martin Luther King, Jr. served from 1954-1960. The last stop was the Southern Poverty Law Center’s
Civil Rights Memorial, which honors 41 people who died in the struggle for the equal and integrated
treatment of all people during the Civil Rights Movement. The success of the project prompted a
second group of students , Human Rights and Conflict Studies minors, to visit these sites in April.
Exploration TermProject —Uganda
In January of 2016, twelve students participated in a service-learning project in Mukono, Uganda.
Birmingham-Southern students, many education majors among them, worked with teachers at the
Buiga Sunrise School. For the education majors, the ten days at the Sunrise School begins their student
teaching experience. In addition to classroom work, students toured the local health clinic, visited
selected homes of their students, and enjoyed drumming and dancing lessons. With great appreciation
for the willingness of the Sunrise teachers to serve as mentors for our students, Dr. Spencer offered two
professional development workshops for teachers and staff. The Birmingham-Southern and Sunrise
School partnership will continue with a project planned for January 2017.
Alternative Spring Break—Birmingham
For Alternative Spring Break, student Kayla Smith (’18) suggested an exploration of the local
community. The alternative spring break project in Birmingham focused on serving non-profits
across Birmingham, learning the history of the city, and investigating Birmingham’s recent growth.
Service projects included serving meals at Highlands United Methodist Church’s Hospitality Hour,
sorting food at The Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, clearing privet at Red Mountain
Park, and planting vegetables and preparing beds at Jones Valley Teaching Farm. Participants visited
Birmingham landmarks such as Sloss Furnace, Railroad Park, the Alabama and Lyric theatres, and
Vulcan. Birmingham-Southern Student Akeem Lee (’19) provided a guided tour through the Civil
Rights Institute and the 16th Street Baptist Church. Students met with leaders of the community and
saw Birmingham’s growth and change firsthand.