Conversation with fourth-graders at robious elementary school

THEME: "CAN ONE PERSON MAKE A DIFFERENCE?"
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    05/17/2015
    I was invited to speak to the Robious Elementary School, located in Midlothian, Virginia on April 25, 2015 at 9:45 am. The fourth-grade teacher, Ms. Jackie O'Toole, found me on the internet and extended the invitation to me to speak to all of the fourth-graders about my civil rights experience in the 1960s. The students had been learning about civil rights during the sixties and were working on the theme, "Can One Person Make a Difference?". 
    I told them that I was arrested on February 22, 1960, in the movement called "The Sit-ins" in Richmond, Virginia at Thalhimers Department Store. The thirty-four students arrested that day came from Virginia Union University and were a part of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, also known as SNCC. They followed instructions from Dr. Martin Luther King's teachings, who followed the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.
    The fourth-graders had studied and knew all of the civil rights terms I asked them. They had intelligent responses to my questions and posed challenging comments and questions to me. They were the most inspiring young people I have come across in a long time.
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    It was a wonderful experience for me, a pioneer in the civil rights struggle, to hear the young people wanting to know how it felt and if I would have done anything differently. If you could imagine - 125 students were sitting on a carpet in the library, eager and attentive to my every word. I could see the desire in their eyes to do their part to make a difference in this world. I knew after this meeting, my real purpose and passion in this lifetime would be realized even more. My new mission is to become a connecting bridge between the old and the young, bringing together a greater understanding of this world and its many problems.
    Before I concluded my remarks, I felt so much love in the room as I looked into their eager eyes. I told them how important they were and that someday they would make a difference in this world. I asked them to look at each person beside them and realize that these persons could be the next president, the next famous Dr. King, the next teacher, or someone of importance who may benefit the world. I told them to get to know people who don't look like themselves. Don't be fearful of meeting different people because you may lose out on valuable lessons. I told them I was glad to be there and that I loved them. I asked the to shout as loud as they could, "I love my life!". THEY HUGGED ME AND I HUGGED THEM BACK.
    I gave the students an assignment, to write a 1-2 page essay on what that day meant to them. I will be back to award the top three essays written by the students with certificates and monetary gifts. We took pictures and videotaped the session.

    Thank you to all of the teachers and students who made this day so special.
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Images by Tonya Rice