Lady’s Island Middle School’s Junior Leadership class visited Penn Center on St. Helena Island on Friday, Nov. 15. The leadership class spent part of the day touring the facility and learning about Penn Center’s rich history. Ms. Ward was our facilitator for the day.
The theme for this year’s visit to Penn Center was civil rights. The class was divided into groups and assigned to read important speeches written by John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, and George McGovern. Members of the Junior Leadership class read excerpts from these important historical figures famous speeches and discussed the meaning of the words that were used during these changing times. By comparing and contrasting these important ideas and speeches, the students are now better able to understand the views and opinions of our country during unsettling times.
After lunch, the class toured the Penn Center grounds led by Mr. Middleton. They learned about the buildings and graveyards that are all part of Penn Center. They ended the day with a walk down the same path to a creek that Martin Luther King Jr. walked during his days at Penn Center. These walks helped him and inspired him to create his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
