TRAVELING TO CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT LOCATIONS (6 POINTS)

 

During Family Weekend, my mother and I visited Ebenezer Baptist Church on their Youth Sunday, in which the youth group held an installation that honored the impact of local civil rights leaders within the community. Many of these civil rights icons were graduates of the Atlanta University Center, including Gloria Knowles Bell (C’64), Lois Turner Dunlap (C’65), Jackson Smith, Jr. (MC), Sandria Sheats Smith (CAU), and Kathryn Sheats (CAU). I was greatly touched and inspired by their contributions to the community that I rely on to improve my advocacy and civic engagement. I also enjoyed Rev. Donavan J. Pinner’s (Morehouse College, Class of 2020) sermon, “Dream Again.” Using the film Black Panther, Rev. Pinner bridged the collective feeling of extended possibility and expanded imagination to warn us from allowing memory to become more powerful than expectation. He characterized dreaming as a test of courage, faith, and elasticity in the testimony that is soon to come. I found his words incredibly thought-provoking; the idea that we define the peak of our journey by the best that has occurred can be damaging to our belief in our potential. His sermon cautioned against ignoring our current reality in anticipation of future successes, instead encouraging a shift in mindset towards believing that conflict or strife is real but temporary. Rev. Pinner inspired me to reflect on how I may be unintentionally limiting my belief in my ability to grow beyond my most treasured accomplishments. As an undergraduate student at the beginning of my professional career and pursuit of higher education, it is crucial that I don’t allow past failures or rejections to restrict my belief in the heights I can reach and the rooms I can enter.

By: Lorna Morris