Honoring Stories, Inspiring Change in Washington D.C.

In June 2022, Project Success brought a group of Minneapolis Public Schools students to our nation’s capital to visit Howard University and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in partnership with the Minnesota Vikings. And thanks to a generous donation from Delta Airlines who helped make the flights possible for our students. This trip was the culmination of previous virtual gatherings with these students and the Vikings to explore identity, African American history, and culture as part of our global expeditions programming. Along with Project Success founder, Adrienne Diercks, and a team of PS staff, Shaadia Munye joined students on the four-day trip. She is a PS Alumna and recent Augsburg University graduate. She shares her journey chaperoning the students below on this life changing trip. 

Project Success has continued to create opportunities for students to travel, build lifelong bonds, and absorb history in the way it was meant to be taught– through experience. Six years ago, I was fortunate enough to be one of those students. Today, it is my privilege to write about my experience as a chaperone on Project Success’ first in person global expedition since the start of COVID-19 to our nation’s capital, Washington DC. I’ve heard many great things about past trips to DC; that the museums are magical, the culture and diversity is unmatched, and the students get to experience an overwhelming amount of history together. 

Because I’ve gone on a few college tours and museum visits with Project Success I had a few preconceived notions on how I thought this trip was going to go. We’d go in, look around, ask a few questions, and take a nap on the drive back to Minneapolis. I don’t think it really dawned on me the cultural ties and hardships our Minneapolis community has with Washington DC. While walking through the NMAAHC, I couldn’t help but to stop and connect the story of Emmett Till to our very own George Floyd. It’s evident that we’re in an ongoing fight for social justice, but remembering how many lives were cut short, honoring their stories, and hopefully inciting change is what I believe to be the goal of both our cities. 

After speaking with Professor Greg Carr at Howard, I think we all noticed how similar Minneapolis and DC really are, two cities that truly depend on the genuity and the unity of its communities. 

 From the very beginning I knew this trip was going to be one to remember. Students were either so excited or extremely anxious to be traveling for the first time ever without their parents, but nevertheless we were all ready to be in DC and start our time together. Bonds started forming immediately before my eyes. I could already see which students were going to be up until 2 am sharing life stories and syncing apple watches. 

With 11 students from various MPS high schools, I assumed this trip was going to be intimate and fulfilling; everyone asking for what they needed and when they needed it and it was exactly that. A few of my trip highlights were definitely my more emotion filled moments with some of the students during our walk through the NMAAHC, our reflection workshop after the museum, our workshop with poet Pages Matam, and definitely our intense game of charades. 

During this trip, I was fortunate enough to take the backseat and really bear witness to how the students were reacting to everything. Some students were overjoyed at how much freedom they were given on a school sanctioned trip, some cried at how much history they were completely oblivious to, and Gunxang found every possible photo opportunity and possibly even his new home for the next 4 years. 

During our NMAAHC reflection a word that came up that I think really resonated with me throughout the entire trip was ‘community.’ From our Howard tour to our poetry workshop with Pages, I think some form of community was always present and hearing that from the students as one of the biggest takeaways from the museum really confirmed that for me. 

The most moving part of this trip was how easy it was to get the students engaged. Honestly, I didn’t think it took any work at all. From 7 am wake ups to all the questions they asked during the college tour, they were invested the entire day! I was especially proud on the last day when Mianna and Aaliyah shared their poems with the group. To witness students go from not knowing a single thing about each other to opening up about the relationship their hearts and their brains have with one another together was the most beautiful and mature thing I have ever seen. I know adults that wouldn’t be able to do in months what these young scholars did in just 3 days!  

I think being on the other side of Project Success, no longer as a student in the organization but as a college graduate, I can say I finally get it. All the unlogged hours that go into planning these expeditions, all the time that goes into lesson planning, fundraising, trust building, surveys, and so much more. All of that hard work seems so miniscule when you hear just one student say “I think I’m going to apply to Howard” or “This museum means so much to me because my father’s family is originally from Africa and then they were sent to Ecuador.” Watching Project Success do for other students what they have been doing for me for years makes me feel incredibly fortunate to be a part of this work and excited for what the future has in store for these students and this organization. 

To hear the full scope of the story, visit the Minnesota Vikings website and see for yourself the impacts this trip has made on Project Success students and the Minnesota Vikings.