Hazel Scott/ASU
On Saturday, Oct. 22, more than 45 students in the W.E.B. Du Bois Honors program
headed to Selma, Alabama, to continue Alabama State University’s long history of service.
Through the W.E.B. Du Bois Honors Program Global Leadership Initiative, the honors
students helped with a clean up project in the Selma community, mentored junior and
senior students in STEM and Social Science Education, and performed other outreach
services, all key factors in the community service projects the honors program has
established with Alabama’s four Black Belt counties (Dallas, Montgomery, Wilcox and
Lowndes). The honors students are required to undertake two community service projects
in both the spring and fall semesters.
“We are so excited to offer this service-learning opportunity because it really helps
set the tone for their college careers,” said Denise Roy, administrative assistant
in the honors program. “These projects help students to learn about community engagement
and the importance of giving back to the community.”
Selma Councilwoman Lesia James and other Selma City Council members helped to coordinate
the University’s efforts.
“We would also like to give special thanks to the ASU Foundation for supporting the
honors program endeavors,” Roy said.
During the clean-up, students took a walk in history. They met with one of the original
foot soldiers of the Civil Rights/Voting Rights Movement, 96-year-old George Sallie,
who is one of the civil rights marchers that were brutally beaten by law enforcement
officers on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965, known as “Bloody Sunday.”
The students also walked across the National Historic Landmark.
“This community service event was a great experience. Growing up in Zimbabwe …we had
a strong sense of community. So, I had a passion for…learning from others in the community.
This event allowed me to learn from civil rights foot soldier Mr. Sallie…about his
fight for freedom, about the actual events on the Pettus Bridge,” said sophomore Anna
Havatidi. “I also learned about the importance of working as a team and giving back
to the community.”
Dr. Ram Alagan, director of the honors program, said the initiative is important because
it empowers students to see what they can accomplish.
“We hope it will encourage them to continue to work within their communities, not
only during their college years, but throughout their lives,” Alagan said. “We believe
in combining education and community service by educating the mind as well as educating
the heart.”
The honors students will finish the fall semester with community service projects
in Montgomery County in November by helping the Family Sunshine Center, the Montgomery
Area Food Bank and conducting a tutorial service for one of the community centers.
“Our students are seeing the effects of socio-economic disparities in our communities
and are discovering ways to create change in the community,” Alagan added.
