Fort Bend and Harris County Students Walk Through Civil Rights History on Freedom Tour 2026
For a group of Fort Bend County and Harris County students, lessons about the American Civil Rights Movement moved beyond classroom pages this summer.
They stood inside churches where communities gathered in the face of violence. They walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. They visited the former Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, and reflected at museums and memorials dedicated to people whose courage helped change the nation.
The Expose Excellence Youth Program’s Freedom Tour 2026, held July 6-12 in partnership with the Office of Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, gave students an opportunity to experience that history in the places where it unfolded.
More than a weeklong educational trip, the tour encouraged young people to consider what the Civil Rights Movement means for their lives today — and how voting, public service, education and community involvement can carry its work forward.
A Civil Rights Journey Across Four States
The 2026 Freedom Tour took students through Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi, connecting major moments in Black history and the Civil Rights Movement through museums, churches, schools, memorials and conversations with community leaders.
Before leaving Richmond, students and their families were welcomed by Ellis and Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton. Ellis encouraged the students to take in the full meaning of the journey and to bring its lessons home with them.
The commissioner was also there when the group returned, welcoming the students back and recognizing the experiences and knowledge they would now carry into their schools, families and neighborhoods.
Harris County Precinct One sponsored 15 high school students’ participation in the tour through its Summer Youth Program, with county records authorizing up to $37,500 for the partnership with Expose Excellence Youth Program.
Along the route, students visited Brown Chapel AME Church and the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma; the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery; Kelly Ingram Park and 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham; and the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel and Clayborn Temple in Memphis.
The tour also included the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum and William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, where six-year-old Ruby Bridges became the school’s first Black student in 1960.
At each stop, the students were asked to do more than observe. They met with museum educators, historians, elected officials and public servants, then participated in daily conversations about sacrifice, courage, discrimination, progress and civic responsibility.
Students Reflect on Sacrifice and Responsibility
For Ja’Varius B., the journey brought a greater appreciation for the people whose sacrifices created opportunities for later generations.
“This trip has really opened my understanding of all the different sacrifices that were made. I now appreciate my culture very much and all my ancestors that sacrificed themselves,” Ja’Varius said.
Caleb L. said the experience helped connect the struggles of the past with the work that remains unfinished.
“This trip and the experiences I had with EEYP were truly eye-opening. I not only learned about what African Americans had to endure in the past, but also what we have to do as a nation and people to continue the dream and progress that previous advocates fought for,” Caleb said.
That connection between history and present-day responsibility became one of the tour’s central themes.
“My experience on this trip with EEYP truly made me grasp why it is up to me and my generation to keep the fight going,” Kyah M. said. “It revealed to me all the victories that they don’t teach us about in school. With everything that I have learned, seen, and heard, it is up to my generation to make sure these stories don’t die and that the pioneers’ sacrifices were not in vain.”
For Chidimma O., the tour also challenged the idea that the nation’s struggle with racism ended with emancipation.
“This trip really opened my eyes to the experiences of the Black community after slavery. Many people believe racism ended with slavery, but this trip proved that Black people had to endure so much more for hundreds of years after,” Chidimma said.
Conversations and Connections Become Part of the Lesson
Some of the most meaningful parts of the Freedom Tour happened not only inside museums, but also in the conversations students shared with one another and with the adults accompanying them.
“I am really thankful for the people I’ve met on this trip,” Christopher E. said. “They gave me a different perspective on things, and I’m thankful for the staff because y’all have widened my understanding and have given deep conversations that were good.”
For Brashard J., walking through historic sites created a personal connection to people whose strength and perseverance continue to shape the country.
“On the Freedom Tour for my first time, I get to walk in the footsteps of my ancestors and learn from people who lived through hardships that make up our lives today,” Brashard said. “I’m grateful that I was chosen for an amazing opportunity and wish to dive deeper into our history so we can learn from our past and move on to a better way of life.”
The week also gave students a clearer sense of how learning can lead to service.
“My experience here was amazing,” Joddie A. said. “I want to keep learning and taking action to help my community.”
Violet L. described the experience as one that would remain with her long after the students returned to Texas.
“My experience on the Freedom Tour was ineffable,” Violet said. “The sights I saw, the people I met, the history I can never unlearn, the truth that has been revealed, and everything my soul has experienced will never be forgotten.”
Local Leaders Encourage Students to Keep Moving Forward
The students also met public officials whose work continues to shape the communities represented along the Freedom Tour route.
In Selma, Commissioner Dexter McCoy joined the group and encouraged the students as they explored a city central to the Voting Rights Movement. Selma Mayor Johnny “Skip” Moss III presented Expose Excellence Youth Program with an official proclamation recognizing its commitment to historical education, civic engagement and youth empowerment.
Moss, who was elected Selma’s mayor in 2025, leads a city whose streets, churches and bridge remain closely tied to the national history of voting rights and civil rights activism.
In Birmingham, Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr spoke with the students about pursuing their goals, continuing their education and refusing to let doubt from others determine their futures.
Those meetings helped connect historic leadership with modern public service. Students were able to see that civic participation is not limited to moments recorded in history books. It also happens through the everyday decisions of residents, voters, educators, advocates and local leaders.
Expose Excellence Supports Fort Bend County Youth Year-Round
The Freedom Tour is part of the broader mission of the Expose Excellence Youth Program, commonly known as EEYP.
Available to young people who live in Fort Bend County, the diversionary program was created to advocate for, educate, mentor and empower youth while helping them develop positive self-awareness, cultural competency, personal responsibility and confidence.
EEYP serves youth through academic support, tutoring, mentoring, job and career training, business and entrepreneurship workshops, life-skills education, recreational activities, field trips, financial-aid advocacy and exposure to the fine arts. The program also offers mental health and substance abuse support, driver’s education assistance and opportunities for self-expression through spoken word, poetry and visual art.
The program is available to Fort Bend County residents ages 10 to 17 and works to give young people a safe environment in which to build skills, explore opportunities and develop supportive relationships with mentors and peers.
The affiliated Expose Excellence Youth Foundation also works with schools, nonprofit organizations and community leaders to provide educational resources and youth programming, beginning with its inaugural efforts in Fort Bend County.
That year-round work places the Freedom Tour within a larger commitment to helping young people understand their worth, recognize their options and see themselves as capable of contributing to their communities.
Why the Freedom Tour Matters at Home
When students returned to Fort Bend and Harris counties, they brought back more than photographs and souvenirs.
They returned with stories they could share with classmates, relatives and neighbors. They had seen how ordinary people — including children and teenagers — participated in movements that reshaped public education, voting rights and life across the United States.
For local families, that may be one of the Freedom Tour’s most lasting contributions. The experience showed students that history is not something distant or finished. It continues through decisions about whether to vote, speak up, learn more, serve others and challenge injustice when they encounter it.
Expose Excellence Youth Program thanked the Office of Commissioner Rodney Ellis for helping make the 2026 tour possible, along with McCoy, Carr, Moss, participating museums and educators, law enforcement officers, volunteers, chaperones and the families who entrusted the organization with their students.
The Freedom Tour ultimately represented an investment in the next generation of Fort Bend County and Harris County leaders. By walking through places where others once stood for justice, the students returned home with a stronger understanding of where the nation has been — and the role they can play in determining where their communities go next.
Stay tuned to My Neighborhood News for more stories about Fort Bend County youth programs, educational opportunities and community initiatives creating meaningful experiences for local students.
Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.
