Barbara Harris grew up in New Orleans during the Civil Rights Movement. Her earliest memory of the movement is picking up her brother after he returned from one of the famous Freedom Rides. He was bloody, beaten, and had to be carried off the bus.
Her story is one that she does not like to tell. She still has the scar from a elderly white lady scraping the point of an umbrella down her back during a sit-in.
Just last school year, Ayron Plummer, 15, witnessed students trying to form a Ku Klux Klan group at his Columbia school. The students came to school dressed in white pointed caps and tried to discriminate against black students. Plummer said the problem grew until the students participating in the actions were either expelled or suspended from school.
Harris’ and Plummer’s experiences are 40 years apart, but they stem from the same issue: racism. The two participated in the 3rd annual “Let’s Talk, Columbia!: Teen Speak” on Tuesday evening. The group watched a video piece about the Civil Rights Movement and then discussed how they felt about social justice then and now.
The program, sponsored by the Human Rights Commission, is an opportunity for community teens to talk about diversity. Community dialogues about diversity are held monthly, but Teen Speak is a special opportunity for teens to get their voice heard by adults.
“The teens primarily spend their time in school, and this is their chance to be heard in the community,” program coordinator Nanette Ward said. “There is no question that teens have something to say, they have already experienced a lot.”
The program resulted from enthusiasm by several students who participated in a study circle at Hickman High School and received study circle facilitator training during the 2003-04 school year.
Ward said she wants changes to be made after the meeting and not just dialogue. She said the program has been successful in the past because of the action taken afterwards.
“It’s not just talking for the sake of talking, but people take what they have heard and shared and use it in their own actions,” Ward said.