Pivotal civil rights activist spreads nonviolence message in Youngstown
TRAILBLAZER: Minnijean Brown Trickey was one of the nine black students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., 51 years ago. She spoke about her experiences to students Tuesday at Trinity United Methodist Church.
One of the Little Rock Nine, who integrated an all-white school in Arkansas in 1957, spoke on nonviolence.
YOUNGSTOWN — Niya Merriweather and William Huffman, Youngstown Early College students, traveled with civil rights activist Minnijean Brown Trickey when they participated in the Sojourn to the Past. The trip takes high school students through Southern locales where the civil rights movement made history.
Brown Trickey’s visit to Youngstown, where she spoke Tuesday and today to hundreds of other students in Youngstown City Schools, was another occasion for Niya and William to be inspired and educated. The two were among 75 Early College students who had breakfast Tuesday morning at Trinity United Methodist Church with Brown Trickey. She was one of the Little Rock Nine students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., in 1957.
“I learned from her that we all can make a difference,” Niya said.
“I want to live by the six principles of nonviolence that she talks about,” William said. The principles, penned by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., were included in Brown Trickey’s wide-ranging talk to the students.
The Early College students represent an ethnic diversity that was unheard of before school integration. Some commented that they would have been afraid to endure what Brown Trickey faced but were glad she helped pave the way.
Brown Trickey addressed the six principles that “will change your life.”
- Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. “We might think of King and Gandhi as examples. But in our society, soldiers involved in war and violence are depicted as courageous. It takes a different kind of courage not to be violent,” she said.
- Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. “I challenge you to demonstrate courage in everyday life,” she said. “Learn to make peace and be peaceful.”
- Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people. “Don’t call into question someone’s character because they disagree with you,” she said. “Don’t get mad, get even,” she said, noting by that she meant “get the best grades” ... “be uppity in your mind.”
- Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform. “Suffering often brings about societal change,” she said. “The challenges that come to us are an opportunity to change and transform to a positive situation.”
- Nonviolence chooses love in instead of hate. “It takes the same amount of energy to love as it does to hate,” she said.
- Nonviolence believes the universe is on the side of justice. “Sept. 3, 1957, when people saw black kids in newspapers and on TV ... there was a shift in consciousness. But we need events like Little Rock ... not a pretty picture,” she said, which contrast with what is just.
Brown Trickey’s message seems to reach young people because she tells them that “this is an amazing story about teenagers.”
She also noted that the integration of the all-white Central High School was a “constitutional struggle” that isn’t even included in some history books.
The loftiness of the goal, however, was in stark contrast to what she and other black teens endured. Brown Trickey told her audience that she was taunted incessantly by a group of girls who “made my heels bloody” by stepping on the back of her feet, calling her names and spitting on her.
Brown Trickey said at the time, she didn’t fully understand the whole scope of racism and the power struggle involving segregation. She debated whether she was an ordinary or extraordinary person who landed in an extraordinary situation. “What’s normal?" she asked. “We’re shaped by our experiences and we can’t undo them. It was a valuable experience.”
Brown Trickey challenged the young people “not to believe the hype” that they see and hear on TV. “It’s a tactic to stop you from making demands on society. Society doesn’t want you to know what you’re capable of.
“Stand up for yourself as proof of your potential,” Brown Trickey said. “You’ll be able to shift the world.”
SEE ALSO:Minnijean Brown Trickey background.