Knox Elementary students to attend inauguration

Many of the stories students at Knox Elementary in Selma heard about the Edmund Pettus Bridge came from their grandparents or extended family, but later this month the landmark to liberty will again lead the way to an important date with history.

Knox Elementary Principal Joslyn Reddick and about 45 students are planning to make the trip to the nation’s capitol for the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president.

Reddick hopes to take two buses of students who will leave Selma Jan. 18 and arrive in Washington D.C., Jan. 19 in time for activities that will also be celebrating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

And if the barriers the president-elect had to overcome en route to capturing the highest office in the land are an indicator of progress yet to be made, Knox Elementary School might embody that struggle perfectly.

Of the 100 percent African-American student population attending the Dallas County school, 94 percent come from low-income households and receive free or reduced lunch.

“We also deal with a number of other environmental issues in which many of the children attending the school come from single-parent homes,” said sixth-year principal Reddick.

Despite those odds Knox has still managed to make AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) the last four years, according to Reddick.

Obama’s presidential victory is one Reddick said she uses as both an inspirational and motivational tool with the nearly 220 students at the school.

“Whatever it takes is what we’ll do to ensure that our students get the best education possible,” said Reddick, who has written grants, solicited support from community leaders and even hosts her own radio morning show with students at the school.

Last year, Reddick helped raise funds to take students from the school on a field trip to Auburn and Tuskegee Universities.

It may have been the first time some of the students had been beyond Selma city limits, but it was much more than a sightseeing trip for Reddick.

“We want these kids to do well in school and eventually go to college someday,” said Reddick. “I want to expand their horizons so they can reach their full potentials.”

Reddick’s daughter, Jatari Reddick-Hardy, a student at Knox Elementary, will also be traveling to the nation’s capitol this month for the presidential inauguration.

The cost of the trip to D.C. is about $18,000, which Reddick is still looking for help in raising.

When it comes to measuring what a trip like this means for her students, Reddick said it’s a priceless investment in their futures.

“This is the inauguration of the first African-American president. This is a historic moment in American history and a life experience they’ll never forget,” she said.

Reddick remembers well the stories she was told as a child about how her uncle, who participated in the Selma to Montgomery march, walked the soles off his shoes or accounts of the meetings held at Brown Chapel Church in Selma at the onset of the Civil Rights Movement.

“I grew up in this community (Selma) in a single-parent home, and I can remember the Ku Klux Klan marching through town during their parades,” recalled Reddick whose parents always stressed the value of education to her.

The sage words of her mother Mabel are ones Reddick hopes to pass along to her students.

“Don’t forget history, but always continue to move forward,” Reddick said.

Anyone wishing to assist the students of Knox Elementary with funding for their trip to Washington D.C., may do so by contacting Knox Elementary, 1002 Mabry St., Selma, AL 36701, 334-874-1650.