My 2023 Freedom Trail #OLASTEOmoment

When I arrived at the trip meet-up spot and met Sofia, my first OLASTEO friend and soon-to-be roommate, I knew the National Excursion would be a life-changing experience. To this day, Sofia and I still communicate frequently, and the other trip attendees' shared passions, stories, and friendship left me in awe.

Landing and settling in was a whole other experience. I had been to Atlanta when I was much younger and could not appreciate the large number of flourishing African Americans in one space. At every restaurant, school, and location we visited, it felt amazing to be greeted by people who looked just like me in every shade under the sun.

The most impactful moment of the trip that changed my way of thinking was at the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. I knew that OLASTEO stands for “our lives as seen through each other,” but I had never truly seen anything through someone else's eyes as I had in that museum. One of the Legacy Museum's unique qualities is the land it was built on. As you walk through the space, a step reads, “You are standing on a spot where enslaved people were forced into bondage.” I felt like I had walked into a brick wall of realization at that moment. It took everything in me to continue walking, knowing how much my ancestors lost from being enslaved, how much my people are continuing to lose as a result of that, and how our history is constantly being limited and concealed.

If I had not applied to the Freedom Trail National Excursion, I would never have been taught most of what we learned on this trip - a history that has been hidden from me my entire life. Moving forward, I know that I want more young people to get this experience, and I want to share my knowledge with others because this piece of American history must be told. Going home at the end of the trip, I was filled with sheer bliss and an eagerness to share everything I had learned with my friends and classmates.