Alliance and Understanding
Alliance and Understanding (AU), is a program that explores the Civil Rights movement and the intercultural partnership between Blacks and Jews.
Successful applicants participate in a retreat, a series of lectures and an alternate spring break trip to four cities in the South. Following the trip students plan campus programs and lessons and workshops on civil rights in local schools.
The AU program is open to all interested Penn students. Knowledge of Civil Rights history or Black/Jewish issues is NOT necessary for participation in this program. All we ask is a genuine interest in the topic, a willingness to learn, and a desire to meet and build new and unique relationships. Applications for the 2012 program will be due Oct 7th. Students must be available to travel March 4-9th, 2012.
Focus First is a vision screening program founded by AU students. To participate in the program, contact Rebecca Berger at bergerr@nursing.upenn.edu.
What March 2011 trip participants had to say...
As someone, who participated in demonstrations, been physically attacked by police, and emotionally damaged by the assignations of Dr. King and Minister Malcolm I experience the AU trips as an honoring of those who sacrificed for an American idea that yet not exist. Consequently, I am thrilled to walk the streets of those who walked valiantly to a potential demise so that we the many can be live more freely than they did.
Staff - Brother Robb Carter
African-American Resource Center, Associate Director
The AU 2011 spring break trip completely surpassed any of my expectations. The most memorable part of the trip for me was meeting with Ms. Joanne and walking over the Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. At the time of the demonstration, Ms. Joanne was about 12 years old and her recounting of her experience was both chilling and inspiring. We stood on the very ground from which the marches started and she made each of us pick up a rock. She then instructed us to keep it and put it somewhere visible. She told us that every time we looked at it, she wanted us to remember what happened in Selma and to re-dedicate ourselves to never giving up on what we believe in. I keep my rock on a shelf in my room and each time I look at it, I remember that it was normal people who were brave enough to fight for justice and who ended up changing this nation and it truly helps to keep me going.
Simone Gadpaille (Class 2012)
The AU trip was first and foremost an opportunity to relive history. The makeup of our group--half Jewish and half Black--allowed us to recreate the bond between two communities that was so pivotal in the Civil Rights era yet has dwindled in recent years. Likewise, the opportunity to see, feel, and think about the sites that witnessed the great moments of the Civil Rights Era opened my eyes to the great history of this country, to the lasting issues that beg to be resolved, and the potential we have to bring justice to the world.
Elie Peltz (Class 2014)
