Last Updated on October 14, 2015 by bvnadmin

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There are some life experiences that have the power to profoundly affect us, and alter our path through life. The birth or death of a child, for example – one experience joyful, the other tragic – clearly would change our perspective. A shared public event, such as September 11th, or the murders of the Kennedy brothers or Dr. King, can leave a collective, lasting scar. But some events retain their moral power to change lives for the better decades, even centuries later. Such is the power experienced by those who have taken the Underground Railroad tour.

For years, I have encouraged other educators to take the summer tour, and I’ve seen them return, enlivened by a new enthusiasm toward their work. Many have followed through on that renewed enthusiasm and have gone on to make a lasting difference in others’ lives as a result. This summer, I finally took the tour, and got to know people who were so deeply moved by the stories we heard of sacrifice for others that they have already followed through and taken action.

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One teacher wrote me to say she realized that she needed to help her African-American students understand the experience of their ancestors in order to begin asking and answering fundamental questions such as, “Who am I?” and “How can I help humanity?”

Another educator has been motivated to start a newsletter with facts about African-American history, along with suggestions for parents about ways to encourage and guide their children through school and on to college and beyond.

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A third teacher reflected on the Underground Railroad Tour in terms of broader universal themes, such as struggle, empathy, compassion, tolerance and acceptance, and is developing lesson plans to introduce those concepts to first-graders throughout the school year, “not just as part of Black History Month.”

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But some events retain their moral power to change lives for the better decades, even centuries later.

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Shakespeare famously, and perhaps cynically, wrote that, “The evil men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” Not so for those who operated or travelled the Underground Railroad. The good they did for thousands of people definitely has lived on long after them, and the echoes of it can be felt in Inland Empire classrooms even today.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_separator color=”grey” align=”align_center” style=”” border_width=”” el_width=””][vc_column_text css_animation=””]About the Contributor: Dr. Judy D. White is superintendent of Moreno Valley Unified School District. She also serves as president of California Association of African-American Superintendents and Administrators (CAAASA).

Feature photo: Battle Creek CVB/flickr[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]