Traveling Through Time on Cedarville University’s Civil Rights Tour

Boarding not a time machine but a bus, Cedarville University students will step into the past and visit sites of America’s struggle for civil rights.  

On October 16-20, students from the Civil Rights in America: Tour class will embark on a five-day trip to see where pivotal moments that shaped civil rights in America occurred. Before the tour, students will have spent eight weeks in the classroom hearing in-depth lectures on American civil rights from historical, political and legal perspectives.  

The class prepares students to interact with the diverse culture around them and approach difficult societal topics from a biblical worldview. The class is co-instructed by Dr. Patrick Oliver, director of the criminal justice program, and Dr. Robert Clark, assistant professor of history. 

“Students today are going into an increasingly diverse culture. They’re going into careers where they and the people around them are different,” said Oliver. “Are they culturally competent? What is their ability to relate to people who are not like themselves? These are important considerations for ministering to others and demonstrating the love of Christ.” 

The tour will travel across the South to places including Memphis, Tennessee, Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia. Along the way, students will see civil rights landmarks, including the Edmond Pettus Bridge, where the Bloody Sunday beatings took place, the Lorraine Hotel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, where four little girls were tragically killed in racially motivated church bombing. 

While on their journey, students will hear mini lectures from their instructors that will help them reflect on the history of the Civil Rights Movement. They will also be challenged to view civil rights from a biblical perspective.  

“We desire our students to think biblically about all issues of life, especially issues of identity which are central to Christianity and human dignity,” said Clark. 

Standing in the places where history unfolded, and men and women struggled to have their God-given value recognized by others has a profound impact on students. 

“Going to those historic places, having those serious conversations, it was important and sobering to see and to understand our nation’s past,” said Madison Kennedy, a junior history major from Hillard, Ohio, who went on the trip in 2022. “It made me think critically about the way we view history and how it is depicted in entertainment and media.” 

Largely because of the tour, Kennedy plans to do her senior capstone project on how children’s books depict the Civil Rights Movement. She wants to investigate how these historic events are presented to children and discover the best way of doing so. 

One unique aspect of the class is the dual perspectives students receive through its instructors. Oliver presents the progression of the Civil Rights Movement through the lens of law and justice, while Clark explores the historical background and key events of the movement. This allows students to have a well-rounded view and in-depth knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement.  

“It’s really great to see both of these perspectives,” said Elise Hunnemeyer, a junior history major from Cedarville, Ohio. Hunnemeyer is currently in the civil rights bus tour class and will be on the tour this fall. “I’ve read and heard about many of these places, but I’ve never actually been there. I’m excited to take what I’ve studied about the Civil Rights Movement from a biblical perspective, go where big events happened and develop a comprehensively biblical view of the Civil Rights Movement.”  

Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is a Baptist university with undergraduate programs in arts, sciences, and professional programs, and graduate programs. With an enrollment of 6,384 students in 175 areas of study, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio and is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, such as their history and government programs, and high graduation and retention rates. For more information about the University, visit cedarville.edu.