Darkness and Light - Reflections from My 2023 FTNE
Applying for a spot on the 2023 Freedom Trail National Excursion was one of the best decisions I have ever made during my high school career. I first became part of the OLASTEO family during my sophomore year of high school when they hosted Virtual Experiences during the COVID pandemic. I was beyond grateful for the opportunity to finally join an in-person excursion. I had previously traveled outside of California for other programs, so traveling with other students was not new. But traveling with OLASTEO and the new friends I made and memories we shared is an experience I will never forget.
After each day filled with new educational experiences, my new friends and I were excited for the evenings because we would do fun activities and grow our bond as a group. The first full day in Atlanta, we were still shy around each other but had a planned night of singing karaoke. We broke down the walls of shyness by being comfortable singing in front of people we did not know. The fun nights we had, including an escape room and ax throwing, were a nice balance to the days filled with learning.
We visited the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, the day before returning home. This was a significant landmark in the Civil Rights Movement, where a bomb killed four little girls. We walked inside the church and looked around; it was unbelievable that this peaceful and beautiful place held a very dark memory. We also met and talked to Lisa McNair, the sister of Denise McNair, one of the girls killed by the bombing. Lisa explained that she never met her sister but still felt the trauma that her parents had gone through losing their daughter. She had grown up when integration began, which created a different set of problems that she and her family had never gone through before. Her parents did not know a life separate from segregation, which made McNair feel lonely growing up. Right outside the church was a statue dedicated to the four little girls and two boys who died on September 15, 1963. I thought the statue was beautiful; rather than remembering them as victims, we remember them as innocent children who had their own hopes and dreams.
OLASTEO is an amazing organization, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to be a part of this unique community. I will continue recommending OLASTEO to other high school students if they want to bring positivity to their community and be more knowledgeable about history.
