Liberty students take cultural excursion trip to D.C. for Black History Month

Liberty University’s Office of Inclusion, Diversity, & Equity hosted a bus trip to the nation’s capital on Feb. 15 as part its Black History Month events. Over 150 students visited the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. Memorials. They also met with U.S. Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

At the museum, students visited various exhibits, displaying history from the 1400s to the era of segregation and the modern-day culture.

Senior Justin Hudson said touring the exhibits gave him a greater interest in exploring family heritage.

“I think a lot of the time we live in our own world, and this was an opportunity to learn about someone else and what they’ve been through and what their heritage is,” he said. “(It helps us) get better at serving each other and treating one another with care because now maybe we have more of an understanding of where this person has come from and what they’ve been through or what they’re going through.”

He added the trip was particularly interesting for him because he’s from the Bahamas and he was able to learn more about the impact that the Caribbean has had on African American heritage.

At the U.S. Capitol, Lankford shared advice with students on keeping Christ first while pursuing a career in politics.

“He talked to us about how he came to be senator and how he is keeping God at the center of his career while being in a predominantly non-Christ-centered environment,” said sophomore Levi Lawton, who added that he appreciated Liberty’s support for the trip.

“Liberty cares about training students who are going to be the next generation of leaders and by doing that, they give us experiences like this,” he said. “These are things that are going to give us new perspectives and allow us to form our own ideas on how we want to be leaders in the future.”

Inclusion, Diversity, & Equity will continue its recognition of Black History Month by offering a Soul Train Night (Feb. 24) and a Soul Food Night (Feb. 28). The Soul Train Night, held in the LaHaye Event Space from 9 p.m. to midnight, will include Afrocentric music, dancing, and food. The Soul Food Night will be held in the Food Court at Reber-Thomas, Liberty’s main dining hall, from 6-9 p.m. and will feature Afrocentric art, performance, and dance.

Bible-based diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are crucial to Liberty’s mission of Training Champions for Christ. Inclusion, Diversity, & Equity seeks to serve all students, faculty, staff, and leadership by making every effort to promote inclusiveness and impartiality throughout the institution and standing against all forms of unbiblical discrimination.