When we talk about the Civil Rights Movement and making a difference, we usually think
about big things, movements that transform the country, and that's what I've been thinking
in terms of on this trip. But what Dr. Sybil Hampton, one of the first Black students to
graduate from the previously all white Little Rock central High School, told us was that
that wasn't necessarily what would make the right kind of change. She argued that
making change should be a person by person thing, much in the way that she helped
change the country by simply going to school each day. When I asked Dr. Hampton
about what could be done to deal with some of the issues that we discussed, especially in
terms of education and moving young people out of the confines of their status in society,
she told me the answer was much simpler than what I wanted to hear. She responded
that everyone should be able to channel an inner strength in order to combat the forces in
society that hold hem down, and lamented that young people in the Black community who
act in a way that shows they don't care and aren't interested in doing well for themselves.
I was frankly a little frustrated hearing this and what bothered me was the unfairness of
Black people being held to a certain standard that whites don't have to be. She pointed to
how she had managed to do so well for herself just because she believed so deeply in
her personal mission and goal to prove everyone wrong, and I responded in turn, pointing
out that she had a strong family behind her who was always there for her. She
maintained what she had said: all it takes is one thing, one goal that can inspire you to
empower yourself to fight back. As difficult as this was for me to accept at first, the idea
of each person, each teenager choosing not to give into to the forces against them, but
rather to draw an inner strength from them, is a wonderful one. Dr. Hampton was able to
persevere in her own life because the hate and prejudice that surrounded her served as
her motivator for defying the odds and being the absolute best she could. If Dr. Hampton
could survive three years of solitude, taunts, and threats, and go on to get a Ph.d and be
a person full of compassion and hope, then maybe anyone could find a way to lift
themselves up, no matter how desperate their circumstances. Dr. Hampton is certainly
an incredible example of the power of something as small as self confidence and love,
even for the people that reject you for your race each day at school. I've been
overwhelmed at times by what seems to be the impossible task of continuing the
unfinished work of the Civil Rights Movement, but Dr. Hampton's belief offers me hope
and it makes it all seem a little more doable.
Sara P., The Park School of Love
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