CONWAY, Ark. (January 23,
2018) – Ten Hendrix College students and three staff members recently returned
from a service-learning trip to Ferguson, Missouri. Sponsored by the College’s Miller
Center for Vocation, Ethics, and Calling, the experience engaged the group in
discussion, education, and action related to systemic racial and economic
injustice.
The Hendrix group traveled
to Ferguson January 7-13 to work with the Center
for Social Empowerment
(CSE), founded by the Rev. Dr. F. Willis Johnson in the aftermath of the August
2014 police shooting of Michael Brown. The group participated in CSE’s
education and community-based social engagement programs, which seek equity,
inclusion, and the transformation of economic and social systems.
CSE staff led discussion sessions
each morning, challenging the group to work through ways to lower barriers to
social justice, including naming biases, having conversations about race, and
acknowledging the ways their own identities intersect race, gender, sexuality,
disability, survivor status, and more.
“By the end of the week we
were introduced to tools to help us become better advocates and activists in
our own communities,” said Dr. Todd Tinsley, a trip leader and Associate
Professor of Physics at Hendrix.
“Working with the Center of
Social Empowerment taught me that the world would be a better place if we just
took the time to truly listen to one another,” said Breann Forbes, a senior
Business and Economics major and
Anthropology minor. “Talking to my fellow students and the staff at the Center
for Social Empowerment, I found people who were dedicated to wholeheartedly
listen to others without judgment, and that was transformative.”
For first-hand experience in
the Ferguson community, the Hendrix group visited Kingdom
House to help sort
donated clothing; tutored students at Koch
Elementary School; and
helped facilitate CSE’s Saturday Academy at Lee Hamilton Elementary School.
“Working with children was
undoubtedly the most cherished part of the Ferguson trip for me,” said
Remington Harris, a senior majoring in English. “The time we spent with them
has caused me to reevaluate what I would like to do in terms of a potential
career choice.”
In addition to Forbes and
Harris, participating students included Gwen Boone ’21, Rebeca Castillo ’19,
Mackenzie Gearin ’20, Amanda Jimerson ’19, Quinn Johnson ’21, Annie Meek ’18,
Patty Omolo ’18, and Brock Sullivan ’19. The trip was led by Tinsley; Tanaisha
Coleman, Apartment Area Coordinator; and Hannah Hill, Assistant Director of
Admission.
“I’m honored to have had the
opportunity to travel with these students and colleagues,” Tinsley said. “Day
after day I was struck by their steadfast efforts to engage emotionally and
intellectually with the work of the Center for Social Empowerment, the
community of Ferguson, and their own personal growth.”
About
Hendrix College
A private liberal arts
college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns recognition as
one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That
Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and
rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous
college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been
affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.