WSSU students witness history at opening of Civil Rights museum

In celebration of the grand opening of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, 11 Winston-Salem State students, all mass communications majors, attended the Town Hall Forum Jan. 28 at the NC A&T State Alumni Event Center.  

The free event had approximately 700 people in attendance. 

The Museum opened Feb. 1 in downtown Greensboro, 50 years after the Woolworth Sit-in, where four NC A&T freshmen refused to leave the lunch counter after not being served because of they were black.

The sit-in sparked a national boycott at several other lunch counters and eventually led to integration five months later. 

The forum entitled "21st Century Activism and Protest: The State of the Civil Rights Movement" was hosted by Emmy-award winning radio and television personality Ed Gordon, former host of BET's "Conversations with Ed Gordon."  The event was divided into two segments.

The first segment "Sit-ins, Marches, and Boycotts: A Retrospective" featured the panel including Bennett and NC A&T students; Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Bennett College president;

and  Civil Rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson. 

Jackson was adamant about the sit-in being a huge spark for the Civil Rights Movement.  He also stressed the importance of not being content with the Greensboro Four's efforts and that the movement is continuous. 

"This is not a spectacular one-round, one-lick fight," Jackson said.

"I want us to honor the four who broke the ice. You've got to use this freedom to bring about change."

Malveaux expressed the relevance of educating younger people about their history and the importance of implementing information critically, as well as global issues and economic structures. "We have to continue to reinforce our history," Malveaux said. 

The second segment "Jena 6, Racial Profiling, and Predatory Lending: Emerging Leaders and Contemporary Civil Rights Issues had a panel consisting of Warren A. Ballentine, an attorney, activist, and syndicated radio talk show host as well as WSSU alum and critically acclaimed award-winning journalist Stephen A. Smith. 

The panel focused on the communication barrier between younger and older adults.

"When you go to the younger generation and break things down to them in practical terms, they will see how they can make a difference," Smith said.  "But we are not doing that in the community.  We're letting them run around with their heads cut off, having a perfect view in rose-colored glasses."

WSSU junior and Mass Communications Club president Jasmene Braden said that the forum was excellent. 

"To be in the midst of people who have so greatly impacted the Civil Rights Movement like Jesse Jackson really showed me how important it is to keep the movement going," Braden said.

The forum and the opening of the Museum were recorded by  RAM-TV.

  "We heard and saw a new generation of activists.  And we were challenged to continue the fight," said Marilyn Roseboro, associate professor in the Mass Communications department. 

"It's not over."