{"id":5526,"date":"2019-07-04T14:10:40","date_gmt":"2019-07-04T19:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/?p=5526"},"modified":"2019-07-04T18:41:42","modified_gmt":"2019-07-04T23:41:42","slug":"fourth-class-graduates-from-the-modjeska-simkins-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/2019\/07\/04\/fourth-class-graduates-from-the-modjeska-simkins-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Congratulations to the 4th graduating class of the Modjeska Simkins School!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Graduates of the spring session of the Modjeska Simkins School<\/a> picked up their diplomas on Saturday, cheered on by family and friends who gathered to help them celebrate. If past classes are any indication, the ceremony did not mark the end of their activist education, but a new beginning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been so impressed with the graduates of the last three sessions,\u201d said Network Director Brett Bursey<\/strong>, who led the class with Claflin University<\/a> professor Dr. Robert Greene<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cTheir level of enthusiasm and engagement has exceeded our expectations. The whole idea is for them take what they\u2019ve learned back into their schools, organizations, and communities. And it\u2019s working.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In the final class, students talked about how they planned to put to good use what they had learned. Some joined existing projects; others will create and collaborate on new ones. Past graduates have gone on to launch a podcast; revive a feminist group in Columbia that is spearheading plans to ratify the ERA in SC; conduct tours that revisit the historical narratives of the monuments in the state’s public spaces; and grow a vibrant youth organization\u2014the New Legacy Project\u2014that has been compiling a State of the Youth Report. Several former students now serve on the Network\u2019s executive committee. Others are volunteering with local nonprofits and community groups.<\/p>\n

The course isn\u2019t easy. It includes challenging reading assignments and difficult discussions. Students meet every other week for two-hour sessions, which sometimes go long. This session ran from March 18 through June 29, with optional workshops on certain Sundays. Guest lecturers included Chief Andy Spell, Lewis Pitts, Dr. Bobby Donaldson, <\/strong>and Louis Burke<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The curriculum is both practical and academic. The first classes teach the history of South Carolina that students didn\u2019t learn in school. The last classes offer the practical tools and resources for successful grassroots organizing in South Carolina.<\/p>\n

After graduation, Melanie McGehee shared with her friends on social media, \u201cHonestly, of the times I\u2019ve left somewhere with a \u2018certificate,\u2019 this is the one I\u2019m proud of. It\u2019s a different sort of feeling, but I like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her 13-year-old son Ian also earned a diploma. He was the youngest of the group, and we wondered whether he could handle the material. We were wrong to worry; see clip from orientation.<\/p>\n