17-05-2025
Civil rights activists speak with young Rock Island students
Students at both Edison Junior High School and Thurgood Marshall Learning Center on Friday had an opportunity to learn history from a different point of view.
As a part of the Multi-Generational Community Building Speaker Series, students interacted with Dr. Frank Smith and Macarthur Cotton, two civil rights activists who grew up in the South.
'They have a reference point. Ya know, it makes it more credible, makes it more real because they talk about it from a personal point of view, and I think that is what held their attention,' said Shellie Moore-Guy, who helped plan the series.
'We have to pave our own way by doing good and staying true to our values,' Smith said. 'Well I think it's important for young people to know that they have some responsibilities themselves to take up those same values that the Civil Rights Movement was about, freedom and democracy.'
Joziah Harris, a Thurgood Marshall Learning Center student, said hearing from the civil rights activists is different than reading about it.
'(You can) visualize it because they are telling you what they did, and more details because they were there and everything,' Harris said.
'These kids asked some incredible questions this afternoon, and it's inspiring,' Moore-Guy said. 'There won't be anyone to address these issues if we do not train our young folks, and that's what this is all about.'
Smith said people might not have control over where they start in life, but they can play a pivotal role in where they end up.
'I think (these students) are at the time now to learn about this so they can start their life out on the right track,' Smith said.
Smith and Cotton were available Friday evening at a free public event at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Rock Island.
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