Introducing Sojourn Project
“‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question. ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'”
~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Spokesperson and Leader of the Modern Civil Rights Movement
Introducing Sojourn Project
“‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question. ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'”
~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Spokesperson and Leader of the Modern Civil Rights Movement
For over 20 years and through 100+ study trips to the American Deep South and Washington, D.C., Sojourn Project has been immersing people from diverse backgrounds in academic, transformative weeklong moving-classroom Journeys. Along the path and through the lens of the Modern Civil Rights Movement and America’s struggles for liberty. Living history. Learning about sacrifices made and lives taken to achieve the right to vote and equality. Our greatest hope is for people to recognize that they too can stand up to injustice and do extraordinary things.
A California-based nonprofit, Sojourn has been honored by the United States Congress as the longest-running social justice education and outreach program of its kind.
This is not a tour.
Sojourn students meet the unsung heroes of the Modern Civil Rights Movement and find resonance in their own lives.
National Recognition.
Sojourn is the proud recipient of the nation’s highest honor for exemplary afterschool programs in the arts and humanities.
We have also received the Coretta Scott King A.N.G.E.L. Award, Civil Rights and Social Justice Award, and Andrew Goodman Hidden Heroes Award.
Sojourn: Needed Now. More Than Ever.
White supremacists demonstrating in Charlottesville, to a murderous conclusion. Racist and homophobic graffiti on bathroom walls in Danville. Offensive memes targeting women and minorities at Harvard. Hate crimes, prejudice, and bullying against groups and individuals because of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, origin, or other differences are soaring.
Empowering. Not Provoking.
Sojourn plants seeds that foster equity, mutual respect, and nonviolent social action. What happened in Little Rock in 1957, Ferguson in 2014, Portland in 2017, and Parkland in 2018, affect everyone, and informs our curriculum. Dr. King’s immortal words ring in our ears: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
We ask our students, “How are you considering other people’s voices?” We invite debate and Socratic inquiry. Energizing, rigorous, and uplifting, in this rich educational and experiential environment – age appropriate – transformation happens, from the inside out. It’s almost magical.
It Gets Real on Sojourn.
Right where stuff happened. Sojourners experience the Gettysburg Civil War Battlefield with sound and fury; hear Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech wafting through the chilly air at Stone Mountain, birthplace of the modern-day Ku Klux Klan; fill pews at the 16th Street Baptist Church, where four little girls were murdered, listening to family members speak of loss, fear, and hope; walk in historic footprints at Little Rock Central High School; learn about the 917 hate groups currently operating in the United States.
Sojourn’s eyes-wide-open discourse is a valuable, compassionate, and actionable antidote.
3 Ways to Think and Act Differently.
1
Apply Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Six Principles of Nonviolence in your home, school, community, and life.
2
Remove hurtful language from your vocabulary.
3
Confront bad behavior. Speak up. Don’t be a silent witness to injustice.
Help Young People Build Inner Strength and a Credo of Personal Responsibility.