Hope and Fear

Hope and Fear: Reflections of a high school teacher on tour at the Inauguration

-Mike Walsh January 18-20 2017

Part 1: Hope and Fear

My travel companions are a combination of old and new America. I am a teacher, chaperoning 24 students from Intrinsic Schools, a charter school in Chicago. Of the 24, the students are European Americans (White), African Americans, Asian Americans but the majority of them are Hispanic Americans. However, EF Tours (our tour company) has partnered us with a suburban school with little diversity. Of their 12 students most are white. The chaperones of both schools are white, our EF tour guide is a young African American Women and our bus driver is an older white gentleman who proudly wears his Trump hat.

The Intrinsic Students

We are America. We're White, Black, Hispanic, Asian and/or any combination of races. We're men and women. We're old and young. We're working class and middle class. We’re gay and straight. And we are all here to witness Donald Trump "Make America Great Again!"

As one could imagine that slogan doesn't make most of the Intrinsic students feel good. Make America Great Again? Great, like it was, when African Americans were in slavery or living under Jim Crow? Great, like it was, when we didn't have all these brown people taking our jobs and our college scholarships? Great, like it was, when women weren't afforded the same opportunities as men? Or great, like it was, when people had to hide who they loved and be ashamed of who they were? Our students wonder when exactly back in history does Trump want to take us?

The sign right in front of the Lincoln Memorial

Meanwhile, there are the suburban high school students. They are quite, (a noble trait for teenagers) polite and friendly. Last night, once darkness shadowed all of our faces one of their students extended an age old teenage olive branch. Candy. A bag of candy made it's way around the bus. They shared, everyone ate and old and new America began to move forward, together.

That's what we want right? Right? I see in these students hope for our country. My eyes tear up as I write that phrase. Let me write it again. I see in these students hope for our country.

Yesterday, however, my hope turned to fear. I think it's the fear that much of the world and our country is feeling. But for me that fear hit me right in the face yesterday as I visited the National Mall with my travel companions.  

Our first stop was the new MLK Jr. memorial. The sun was shining and that bust of MLK Jr. was standing there like a mountain of hope. The ultimate American upstander. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, an upstander is someone who stands up against injustice. Think, the antonym of bystander. We champion this term at our school both with stories of historical upstanders and to promote a community of upstanders against bullying and other injustices in our own community.

MLK Jr. Bust

A quote from MLK Jr. hit me right in the gut. "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." My first thought was Trump. What does he do when he is challenged? What does he do amidst controversy? Then I thought deeper. What must I do? My life is comfortable. Heck, I am writing this while riding on a coach bus touring DC. MLK Jr. reminded me that I am not being challenged right now. But what will I do if millions are deported separating the families of my students? What will I do if Muslims are not provided the same civil rights that I enjoy? Will I exchange my comfort and convenience for challenge and controversy? Will I be an upstander? MLK Jr. would.

MLK Jr. Quote

With my stomach sore from the gut punch we traveled back in history to the 1930s and 40s. FDR welcomes you to his memorial with a bronze statue of him sitting in his wheelchair. I wondered... if they were contemporaries would Trump mock FDR for his handicap? Contemplating, I turned a corner in the memorial and read "We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization." In the 1930s and 40s in America and around the world there were a lot of "wedges" and there are a lot of "wedges" today. FDR and his generation saw how far oppression, injustice and hatred can go. We have been warned. Are we prepared to "scrupulously guard the civil rights and liberties of all citizens?" Are all the people living and working in our country “citizens”? Will we stand up for our neighbors? Will we be upstanders? FDR would.

FDR Quote

From memorial to memorial and from Arlington Cemetery to Mount Vernon; the walls, graves and artifacts spoke a similar message to me. It echoed from the mountaintop and streamed through the static of fireside chats. I heard: REMEMBER THE DREAM OUR FOREFATHERS HAD. REMEMBER THE STRUGGLES OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE GROUPS. REMEMBER THOSE WHO FOUGHT TO PROTECT THAT DREAM. THE DREAM IS YOURS. DEFEND IT!

Tonight the students of Intrinsic curled their hair on the bus, switched their walking shoes with dancing shoes and headed to a Inaugural Ball. They ate and danced with high school students from across this great country. They “whipped”, they “nae nae'ed” together as one.

Hair curling on the bus

Tomorrow; however, is a new day and a new America. I have hope in us and in this younger generation. I have hope that we will choose challenge over comfort that we will look for those "wedges" trying to divide us and that we have the courage to be upstanders like so many before us.

I will finish with words from JFK that I read etched in stone by his grave today in the hallowed grounds of Arlington Cemetery.

"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility - I welcome it."

Part 2: Upstanders on the Move

Last night, the night before the Inauguration was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. When we got back from the Inaugural Ball we decided that we should talk to the students about logistics and safety. At the Ball us chaperones hashed out a plan for our discussions. The hotel didn't have a conference room for us so we had to split the students by gender and meet in their rooms. The boys group was small enough that we all met in one room.

The chaperones: (from left) Paul, Carly, Mike and Becca

Paul (the other male chaperone) and I started with accolades. We have been utterly impressed with these young men the whole trip so it was not difficult to give them examples of their awesomeness. Next we gave them a chance to share out something that they had really enjoyed so far. Some mentioned a memorial or a exhibit. Some mentioned getting away from home or school and just getting to hang with different kids. Some even stated that this trip was the highlight of their high school experience so far. This was a pretty standard “share out” until we brought up our our last topic. Tomorrow.

The Inauguration. We asked them if they had any concerns. A few spoke for the group. Apparently they had already shared their concerns with each other because they all seemed be on the same page.

1. If people talk to us what do we say?
2. What if people insult us?
3. What if people harm us?

We anticipated these concerns because of the climate of some of the Trump rallies but I still had to pinch myself a bit because I had to remember that this is for real. We are heading to an Inauguration in the year 2017 and my students are concerned for their safety, not from foreign terrorists, but from their own countrymen and women.   

After they shared their concerns a sense of gloom descended on the room. It was like everyone had the same thoughts at the same time. It was like we were at a club dancing the night away and all of a sudden someone turned the lights on and we realized that there was danger all around us. For the rest of my life I will remember how those young men looked at me in that moment.

They looked to Paul and I like they never had before. This was one lesson they were eager to learn. We started slow. “If someone talks to you and they are respectful. Have a conversation with them. If they ask you if you support Trump and you don't want to say yes than tell them that you are here to witness democracy.” We used an example of a young man in our group that was wedged between two Trump supporters on the plane to DC. I was sitting right in front of them so I heard the whole conversation. He was brilliant. A 16 year old son of Mexican immigrants stuck in a hostile situation. He was polite and he listened but he didn't cower. He questioned some of their ideologies and he stood his ground on a few big ones of his own. When they exited the plane they thanked him for his conversation and showered him with compliments. “That” we said “is what we want you to do.” They all gave him the proverbial slap-on-the-back and agreed with the plan.   

However, for the other two concerns we had no personal experience to fall back on. We had to get historical on them. “What if people insult us. What if people harm us?” We took the students back to smoke filled hotel rooms in places like Birmingham and Montgomery, when the leaders of the civil rights movements preached non-violence and gave each other pep talks knowing that the next day they would endure the worse. We spoke of MLK Jr. and Jackie Robinson and I looked around the room and saw heads nodding. They whispered “we got you” and “all right then” and they committed to the plan and to each other. It wasn’t until Paul and I left the room did we realise the gravity of what these young men just did. We went to sleep concerned but inspired.  

Civil Rights leaders meeting in a Montgomery hotel   

The girls had similar talks that night with similar fears and similar commitments. By 5:45am we were exiting our bus at RFK Stadium and preparing for the long trek down to the National Mall. We were upstanders on the move! As we made our way through the beautiful Capitol Hill neighborhood there were signs in many front yards. They were quotes from MLK Jr. How fitting? Once we got to the National Mall things got a bit crazy. We couldn't get in! The first entrance was a standstill. Our tour guide tried another. Even worse. Then finally we found an entrance that had a line. How civilized. We found out later that protesters had actually blocked those entrances and that was the source of the chaos.

Signs that littered the front yards of Capitol Hill

All the while we have been wearing “Upstander” hats. We designed and ordered these hats when Trump won the election, specifically to wear today. We wanted to send a clear message that we support all groups of people. We marched along together with our message written across our foreheads. I felt empowered and proud to walk with our group of upstanders.

Upstander Hat

My Crew Representing (From left) Adrianna, Liz, Dennis, Mr. Walsh, Joel, Justina and Sara.

The ceremony itself was less eventful than the journey. As one of our students pointed out “there were way more people at the Cubs rally.” We may have got dirty looks but we were not insulted. We witnessed a few protests here and there but we got lucky and we were not near any of the violence that we read about later. Trump supporters cheered but they didn’t jeer and we are certainly grateful for that. The new president called for unity and for the most part that is what we witnessed. We witnessed citizens from all walks of life looking to their new leader for hope. We prayed today with all Americans that hope wins out over fear.  

A few days ago MLK Jr. challenged us to demonstrate our character not during times of “comfort and convenience” but during times of “challenge and controversy”. Today, we did. Our feet are sore with blisters. We could have been at home but instead we trudged 15 miles to carry our message to the people. The majority of our students are immigrants or 1st generation Americans. They could have shied away from controversy and stayed home but they didn’t. They spoke Spanish freely in the streets and stood proud with their hands over their hearts while the Anthem played.

We were given another challenge the other day as well, from FDR. He told us to guard our country from “oppression, any injustice, any hatred.” Today, we did. We walked through our Nation’s Capital as upstanders. We stood with groups that have felt oppression, injustice and hatred.

It’s quiet now as I sit in my hotel room, exhausted. No sirens or chants. No speeches or cheering. However, if I close my eyes I can hear a faint shout in the distance and a static whisper. REMEMBER THE DREAM OUR FOREFATHERS HAD. REMEMBER THE STRUGGLES OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE GROUPS. REMEMBER THOSE WHO FOUGHT TO PROTECT THAT DREAM. THE DREAM IS YOURS. DEFEND IT!