This March, North Lake College students will travel by bus to visit landmarks of the American Civil Rights Movement as part of the college’s first-ever Civil Rights Field Trip. The trip takes place March 21-24, with stops in Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama, and Jackson, Mississippi. Students enrolled in certain ENGL, PSYC, ECON, PHIL, and HIST (view poster) courses can earn college credit for participating in the field trip. All currently enrolled NLC students can sign up to participate.

This trip is an opportunity to learn outside the classroom walls — by walking through the scenes of iconic moments in the civil rights struggle, visiting some of our nation’s foremost historical museums and memorials, and studying with instructors who are passionate about American history. 

Before the trip begins, a series of associated Civil Rights Field Trip seminars will take place on NLC’s Central Campus. These seminars are open to all members of the campus community. The schedule is listed below.

The trip is led by NLC history professor Dr. Roy Vu and Dr. Beth Nikopoulos, director of the North Lake College Student Life Center.

The fee to participate is $250. This includes room and board, meals, museum admission, and bus travel. Students may reserve a spot now by paying a $100 deposit at the NLC Business Office. The full $250 is due by March 1. You must be a currently enrolled North Lake College student to participate. 

Please note that the four-day trip involves periods of 6-8 hours sitting on a bus and students are expected to stay together as a group at all times during the trip.

For more information, email Dr. Beth Nikopoulos or Dr. Roy Vu.

Civil Rights Field Trip Seminar Schedule

Each installment in this seminar series is a 30-minute session.

Slavery, Abolitionism and Psychology
Led by Prof. MaryAnn McGuirk, with an introduction by Dr. Malcolm Frierson and Dr. Roy Vu
Thursday, February 7, 2:30 p.m.
Room A206

Jim Crowism and Racial Segregation
Led by Dr. Roy Vu
Tuesday, February 12, 1:30 p.m.
Room G401

Black Migrations
Led by the students of Brother2Brother with Dr. Malcolm Frierson
Wednesday, February 13, 2:30 p.m.
Room A206

Civil Rights Movement and Religion,
Led by Dr. Darryl Howard
Thursday, February 21, 2:30 p.m.
Room A206

Equity and Social Justice Today
Led by Dr. Beth Nikopoulos
Wednesday, February 27, 2:30 p.m.
Room A206

Civil Rights Field Trip Highlights

On March 21, the Field Trip will visit the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, MS. On March 22-23, the Field Trip will visit Birmingham and Montgomery, AL, to see Kelly Ingram Park, the National Civil Rights Monument, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 16th Street Baptist Church, the Rosa Parks Museum, Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and the Legacy Museum.