Sojourn Project in the News

Videos
Media
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April 14, 2025

Sojourn students return to Youngstown with more resolve to effect positive change

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – An iconic history maker’s simple and straightforward yet profound message left its imprint on Mya Phifer’s mind. “It moved me when …

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March 5, 2025

The Sojourn Project provides immersive journey into civil rights history

When visitors enter the home of Jewish American peace activist Jeff Steinberg, they step into a living tribute to civil rights history…

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February, 22 2018

Improving the Future and Ending Racism

History is one of America’s best teachers, and a generation often forgotten about in the equal rights movement happens to be the younger generation. That’s why the “Sojourn To The Past” project concentrates on…

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February, 21 2018

The Dahmer Family Finds Peace 52 Years Later After Vernon Dahmer Sr.’s Death

A local family reflects on the civil rights movement in Hattiesburg. The Dahmer family told students of the “Sojourn To The Past” project about the role Vernon Dahmer Sr…

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January, 17 2017

Bay Area civil rights program honored by King Center

A quarter-mile walk five years ago across Alabama’s historic Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma remains etched in Meredith Ratto’s mind…

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January, 18 2016

Tracing the path of civil rights crusade

Sojourn Project and its founder Jeff Steinberg made the front page on Monday January 18th, 2016, Dr. King’s birthday, in Newspapers all over California.…

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April, 7 2014

ABC 7 Morning News Features Sojourn Project

Rep. John Lewis suggested that the Bay Area group Sojourn To The Past be a recipient of Donald Sterling?s NBA fine…

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November, 2 2011

White House honors San Bruno-based youth program

High school junior Charlie Houseman’s U.S. history book is huge, a back-breaking text with hundreds of pages about the country’s past,…

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October, 1 2009

“Through a Lens, Darkly” (An article about Sojourn and Elizabeth Eckford)

During the historic 1957 desegregation of Little Rock Central High School, 26-year-old journalist Will Counts took a photograph that gave an iconic face…

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May, 18 2009

Teens Travel Here to Thank Shuttlesworth

More than 80 high school students from California and New York met the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth today, singing and cheering for the Birmingham, Alabama…

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February, 28 1999

Civil Rights Trail / For 85 students at Capuchino High School in San Bruno

They had flown east all day, leaving the morning light of the Bay Area for the nighttime darkness of the nation’s capital. With barely a pause, they piled into two buses…

Recognition
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January 2016

Coretta Scott King A.N.G.E.L. Award/Advancing Nonviolence Through Generations of Exceptional Leadership

This award recognizes young leaders and youth initiatives that exemplify exceptional leadership in social justice and nonviolent social change, in the spirit of Coretta Scott King.

November 2014

Andrew Goodman Hidden Heroes Award

The Hidden Hero epitomizes the spirit that motivated Andrew Goodman to travel to Mississippi in 1964, an ordinary person engaged in extraordinary action for a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world. Hidden Heroes are nominated by their peers and are selected by The Andrew Goodman Foundation Board of Trustees. Awardees are presented a medal at the annual recognition ceremony, a grant to sustain and expand the work of their nonprofits or social enterprise organizations, and an in-house Andrew Goodman Foundation Fellowship. for Social Change.

October 2014

San Francisco District Attorney’s Certificate of Honor

Presented to Sojourn in honor of our work with students in the City and County of San Francisco. “Sojourn Project has provided San Francisco youth with the opportunity to participate in the innovative ‘I Am the Change’ pilot program. Your support has made a dramatic difference in the lives of our young leaders of tomorrow. Thank you for being the change you want to see in San Francisco,” said District Attorney George Gascon.

June 2013

Civil Rights and Social Justice Award

Given by the National Civil Rights Conference Planning Committee, the award is bestowed upon innovators, scholars, activists, educators, individuals, and organizations whose body of work promotes human dignity, civil rights, and social justice.

January 2013

Dorothy Boyajian Honored Teacher Award

Presented to Jeff Steinberg by California State Senator Jerry Hill as selected by the San Mateo, California planning team for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Ceremony in that county. Specifically, the award recognizes educators committed to justice, understanding, civic engagement, and diversity awareness in the spirit of Dr. King.

February 2012

California Senate Resolution No. 260

Authored by State Senators Curren D. Price, Jr. and Mark Leno, the California State Senate presented Sojourn Project with a resolution commending the organization’s work “for providing a unique and transformational educational experience for high school pupils and teachers that fosters a more civil society where diversity is embraced, injustice is spoken out against, and all people are treated with dignity and respect.”

November 2011

Recipient of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award

The nation’s highest honor for after-school and out-of-school programs devoted to achieving positive outcomes for youth by engaging them in the arts and humanities was presented to Sojourn Project by First Lady Michelle Obama. The award is administered by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Sojourn was one of 12 honored programs selected from a field of nearly 500 nominations submitted throughout the country, and was the only recipient from California.

February 2011

National Education Association Carter G. Woodson Memorial Award

The National Education Association recognizes individuals whose exemplary accomplishments have made a significant impact on education and the achievement of equal opportunity.

July 2010

United States Congressional Resolution H.Res. 1058

The U.S. Congress voted unanimously in the House of Representatives to honor Sojourn Project. Representatives Jared Polis (CO), Tom Petri (WI), and John Lewis (GA) spoke to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Sojourn and to recognize our outstanding service as the longest-running civil rights education and outreach program for youth in the nation.

2009

Excellence in Education Award

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (CA) established the Excellence in Education Awards to recognize and raise awareness of teachers, parents, businesses, and organizations that are working to make positive changes in education.

March 2006

Jefferson Award

The Jefferson Awards are a prestigious national recognition system honoring community and public service in America. They are presented on two levels: nationally and locally. Their primary purpose is to recognize individuals who have shown tremendous commitment to bettering their communities and serve as a “call to action for volunteers.”

What our students, teachers, and leaders are saying…

  • "Witnessing students discussing the complexities of the history and policies of the United States in our nation’s revered landmarks is one of my most treasured teaching moments."

    K. McNulty Middle School Teacher, Sojourn Project Alumni
  • "Life-Changing. Transformative. Soul-Softening. Seeing myself as a sister to my fellow brothers and sisters in the walk of life of justice... and Making a gracious oath to no longer be a silent witness in every aspect of my life."

    W. Morgan Student, Sojourn Project Alumni
  • "The goal of teaching is to be able to instill confidence and skills in a student to go along with content knowledge and relate it to the student’s life. Sojourn was able to do that with me by teaching me as a high school student more than just the history of the Civil Rights Movement, but to take action and be a voice of my community…"

    Pablo Aguilera Graduate, Stanford University, U.S. History Teacher, Sojourn Project Alumni
  • "I thought no one cared about us. During my Sojourn Journey, I felt recognized, validated, and empowered for the first time. You could feel it. American Civil Rights speakers talking about their firsthand experiences and showing us that we don’t need to be quiet. Any one of us can bring about change."

    A. Vasquez Pre-Law Student, Social Activist, Sojourn Project Alumni
  • "The students I met on Sojourn Project…received valuable lessons in tolerance, nonviolence, compassion, forgiveness, faith, and social responsibility. These are the concepts that will give rise to tomorrow’s social leaders."

    Congressman John Lewis 5th District of Georgia, Civil Rights Leader, Sojourn Project Mentor
  • "The most impactful thing was meeting Reverend Billy Kyles, because he made me realize that I do have a dream. All I have to do is believe in myself."

    Sojourn Project Alumni
  • "…Before Sojourn,…I was closeminded and judgmental. My grades were suffering and I was lacking inspiration. From Sojourn, not only did I learn about the Civil Rights Movement, I learned about myself. I began to realize that I was capable of succeeding…I now attend college and am interested in becoming a lawyer or police officer…"

    I. B. Sojourn Project Alumni
  • "The goal of the teaching is to be able to instill confidence and skills in a student to go along with content knowledge and relate it to the student’s life…"

    P. Aguilera Graduate, Stanford University and History Teacher, Sojourn Project Alumni
  • "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."

    James Baldwin Civil Rights Activist, Writer, Social Critic
  • "…As the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death approaches, we need to recall his messages more than ever, 'Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.'"

    Minnijean Brown-Trickey Member of the Little Rock Nine, Civil Rights Activist, Environmentalist, Peacemaker
  • "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

    Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Spokesperson and Leader of the Modern Civil Rights Movement
  • "I recently partook in a different program, with a similar theme. However, I liked your program more because it was such an emotional experience that really changed who I am as a person. I still think about that trip to this day and all of the amazing people I got to meet on that trip. I would love to accompany you on another trip and possibly teach a lesson with one of the staff."

    J. Manning Sojourn Project Alumni
  • "There is a difference between the remembrance of history and reverence for it. We are talking about truth."

    Mitch Landrieu Former Mayor of New Orleans
  • "Sojourn Project allows participants to not just touch history, but to touch those who made history."

    Reverend Samuel Billy Kyles Civil Rights Leader
  • "If not us, then who? If not now, then when?"

    Congressman John Lewis 5th District of Georgia, Civil Rights Leader, Sojourn Project Mentor
  • "I have witnessed non-engaged students from my school learn and appreciate the value of education on Sojourn and apply those lessons upon their return to school…most gratifying…"

    California County Teacher of the Year Sojourn Teacher Alumni
  • "Engagement with and between the kids is incredible. The preparation pre-trip gets them ready for something that's so deep, it seems beyond their comprehension, yet their responsiveness and comments prove how much they're not only getting, but how much they are retaining…It's also about a much bigger picture for them as young adults, developing a level of understanding other people that truly sets them apart – in whatever path they take. I'M BLOWN AWAY!"

    E. Pleschner Sojourn Adult Participant & Alumni
  • "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that 'all men are created equal'."

    Abraham Lincoln U.S. Representative, Lawyer, U.S. President
  • "Witnessing students discuss the complexities of the history and policies of the United States in our nation’s revered landmarks is one of my most treasured moments."

    Karen McNulty Middle School Teacher, Sojourn Project Alumni
  • "The most impactful thing was meeting Reverend Billy Kyles, because he made me realize that I do have a dream. All I have to do is believe in myself."

    Sojourn Project Alumni
Sojourn Project | Experience history. Inspire the future.

Sojourn Project/Sojourn to the Past is a wholly unique, transformative living-history experience rooted in truth, empathy, and moral courage.

875 Lomita Ave, Millbrae, CA 94030
EIN 94-3336985

UPCOMING JOURNEYS

2026-2027

Middle School Trip
November 7-14, 2026

High School Trip
February 13-20, 2027
March 29 – April 5, 2027

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