Over 90 Benjamin Mays students visit Legacy Museum, Equal Justice Initiative memorial and Alabama State University

A staff member said two busloads of students from Benjamin Mays High School in Atlanta traveled to Montgomery, Alabama, to visit the Legacy Museum, the Equal Justice Initiative’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Alabama State University.

Organizers said the visit was intended to expose more than 90 students to Black history and college options. “On the way to Montgomery, Alabama to the Legacy Museum, we have 2 busloads of students from Benjamin Mays High School, and this is just gonna be a wonderful, wonderful trip,” a staff member said.

“Today we had 3 destinations. The first 1 was the Legacy Museum. That for me was the most moving because I could see firsthand the stories from over 400 years ago, the oppressing sometimes depressing stories of what my ancestors went through, and it was super moving,” another staff member said. Speakers said students also toured the EJI memorial (commonly referred to as the Lynching Memorial) and visited Alabama State University, where organizers distributed brochures about degree programs.

A staff member noted Alabama State University offers “over 60 plus different degree programs,” and said seeing campus buildings and the library gave students a sense of the college experience. “It is so important that they come out and learn. It helps them with exposure. And today, they were truly exposed to American black history in Montgomery, Alabama,” the staff member said.

Speakers thanked Mayor Shirley Franklin for sponsoring the trip. “A special thank you to Mayor Shirley Franklin who sponsored this wonderful trip for over 90 students that attend Benjamin Mays High School in Atlanta, Georgia,” a staff member said.

Organizers characterized the day as both educational and emotionally significant for participants, saying the museum visit in particular provided historical context for discussions about race and history. The staff said students walked exhibits, viewed county listings and toured university facilities as part of the itinerary.

Details on planning, funding beyond the mayoral sponsorship, or a formal schedule were not specified in the remarks provided.