Mississippi Delta Immersion 2008

An Immersion Experience Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of MLK's Poor People's Campaign

This course explored the reality of poverty in the Mississippi Delta, along the Gulf Coast, and across the United States, offering tools for overcoming and eliminating poverty.  Commemorating the 40th anniversay of the Poor People's Campaign launched by Martin Luther King Jr. in December 1967, we traveled to Marks, Mississippi, other towns and cities in Mississippi, as well as Tennessee, and Arkansas to learn from community and religious leaders involved in a growing movement to end poverty. 

The experience included poverty reality tours, Bible studies, video-showings, and dialogue with leaders of local and national poor people's organizations and religious congregations engaged in mission work and community organizing. Significant time was spent discussing the theological implications of building a movement led by poor people to end poverty and exploring the unique role of religious communities in this effort.  Students have had ongoing opportunities to get involved in a project to study and celebrate the theoretical and theological framework put out by Martin Luther King Jr. in the last three years of his life.