Students to work on voting rights museum, institute

During last year’s Freedom Ride class across the South, a group of people in Selma, Ala., expressed their hope that the UW–Madison students would one day return.

On May 31, UW–Madison students and staff will embark on a journey to Selma to renovate and develop educational projects for the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute.

Twelve students and five staff members will spend May 31-June 9 in Selma, where they will take part in an educational service project while immersed in a community that has been historically segregated, and pivotal to the civil rights movement.

The group will spend most of its time working on the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute. They will also learn about local history and current issues, and participate in discussions and activities with members of the community.

The completed museum will serve Selma and become a national resource for visitors who want to learn of the community’s history and the Civil Rights Movement.

“It’s great to be asked back,” says Stephanie King, community service coordinator at University Health Services. “We are helping to fill a need for Selma. But we’re also filling a need for our own students and community. It will be a transformative experience that participants will bring back to their lives and to our campus.”

UHS collaborated with the School of Education Academic Services and the College of Letters and Sciences in planning this trip.