Our last day on our trip was amazing. We were able to learn about the history of Memphis and the work of many talented people who made a difference in the civil rights movement. Ms. Elaine Turner is shown here guiding our historical tour. We saw so many of the sites from the movement. It was very interesting to also learn about the slave auction markets and the origins of the KKK in Memphis. It was sad to know that people would be capable of such behavior.

We also visit St. Jude's Hospital and learned more about what motivated Danny Thomas to develop the hospital in Memphis.Miranda and Morgan are enjoying the beautiful tribute garden at St. Jude's in another picture.

We also learned about slavery and the underground railroad at Slave Haven in Memphis. The girls were able to see many artifacts from the slavery period. They also got to go in to a room used to hide people waiting for passage on the underground railroad. This learning opportunity helped to further enrich our knowledge gained at the Amistad Research Institute. We also learned about African American inventors who made many of the products we enjoy today. We also learned about modern day prejudice issues.

Then we went to the National Civil Rights Museum. It took us four hours to get through the whole museum. The girls learned so much during our time there. And, they commented when we were done about how cool it was to have been to so many of the places featured in the museum.

We ended our day with a lecture from two women who were a part of the Memphis movement. They shared their personal stories and talked about their experiences being arrested and going to jail. They both started in the movement when they were teenagers so Miranda asked herself once again if she would have the courage to do that now as a 13 year old.

This was such a wonderful experience for me to share with my girls. I think they better understand now why their mom works so hard to end racism in our community. In the future, I hope that they will be inspired to question the status quo, be brave in the face of adversity, and stand up for what is right. I'm also real proud of the remarkable young women they are becoming. Even though they had a lot of fun, they took the trip very seriously and worked to make sure they were learning throughout the experience.

And, I am grateful to Emily and Anika for sharing the trip with us. They are great young people and made the trip more fun for all of us!

Little Rock Pics

Ryan Olson hosted us at the Clinton School - he's the son of UW-Eau Claire vice chancellor Beth Hellwig

Today we were in Little Rock and we learned about public service through the Cliton School of Public Service and the ways we can make a difference. Next we went to Heifer International Headquarters and learned about hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation. The neat thing about Heifer International is it provides people with animals that they raise. Each family is then expected to pass on the gift by givine one or more of its animal's offspring to another family in need. Since 1944 Heifer has helped over 4 million families in 125 countries.

We ended the day at William J. Clinton Presidential Libary. It was really very interesting because we got to see the exact replica of "The Oval Office," and a ton of presidential memorabilia. It was a great view of an important time in our history. Now we are in Memphis, Tennessee and it's raining. We are in for the night and are ready for a long day tommorrow - we're going to see the Slave Haven underground Railroad Museum and the National Civil Rights Museum.

Great Day in Little Rock

Today was a great day. We started our day at the Clinton School of Public Service. We listened to graduate students there talk about what they are learning about how to make social change so the world is a better and more fair place. It was really interesting to learn about what they are doing now and what they plan to do in the future. I think I will be able do something like what they are doing some day.

Then we went to the Heifer International Headquarters. It was so cool and I learned so much about what Heifer is doing to help make the world a better place. We learned the importance of sustainability and how we need to take care of the earth. We also toured their green building and learned about the techniques they used to make the buildings ecofriendly. The exhibits were very interactive so we learned so much about ending poverty in our world.

Then we went to the Bill Clinton Presidential Library. It was also really cool and very interesting. We learned about the role politics play in social justice. We also got to see some cool things from the presidency. I got to sit in the president's chair in the cabinet room. I don't if I would want to be president. But, I hope that a woman will be able to be president someday. It was cool to sit in the chair and think that someone like me could be president some day! The best part about the day was that my grandpa drove up from Texas to spend the day with us. He learned new stuff and had fun too. It was great to see him!

Clinton stuff in Little Rock

Today was a great day. My grandpa drove from Texas to see us. It was so fun to see him. First today we went to the Bill Clinton School Of Public Service. It was so awesome to hear all the stuff that they do. So I learned a lot and hope to get to be able to some day be able to do what they do. After that we went to Heifer International and got to see the village. It was very interactive. We learned about poverty around the world and how we can work to end world hunger. We learned the things the Heifer is doing to make a difference. And it was cool to learn how we can help too. Also when we were there we got to go on a tour of there Eco friendly headquarters. Then later we went to the Bill Clinton Presidential Library. It was so cool. They have a new exhibit since last time I was there. It had a bunch of the president's stuff. Plus it had the first Lady's dresses from parties. So after a long day we got on the bus and rode to Memphis.

Pictures from Little Rock, Arkansas

Spirit Trickey, daughter of Minnijean Brown Trickey, who works at the visitors center

The monument @ the state capitol

Today, we drove about 7 hours then arrived in Little Rock, AR. We first toured the Visitors Center (which is across from Central High School) then listened to Spirit Trickey (Minnijean Brown's daughter) and Thelma Mothershed. It was very interesting to hear what Thelma's experiences at Central High School and Spirit tell about her mother's story. After that we toured around CHS and walked up the same steps the Little Rock Nine did. It was very cool to walk up the same steps that the 9 did 53 years ago, it was like you could feel history in the presence. We then went to the Arkansas Capitol and saw the Little Rock Nine statues (which are located right outside the governor's window. Whoever made the statues did a very good job because they looked very realistic, except for the color. We have just finished having dinner and are now all in the about to go to bed in our hotel room. Goodnight!! -Emily