TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Omega Lamplighters aim to steer young men in a positive direction over the course of the next four nights, five days, and 500 Miles of Freedom College and Civil Rights tour.
Before dawn Thursday morning, 70 young men from the Big Bend and Jacksonville chapters of the mentorship organization boarded two buses in their largest group yet. They'll visit historical sites in nine different cities including the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where Dr. Martin Luther King Junior was assassinated in 1968; the Black Wall Street History Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Little Rock Central High School, Home of the Little Rock Nine; plus historically black colleges and universities.
Lamplighter David Leconte says he's excited to finally participate after seeing many of his peers go years prior. "I'm mainly looking forward to like the college experience, and I think the Trayvon Martin memorial, that's what my peers told me about the last year trip," he said.
Omega Lamplighter Artistic Director Terrance McCray says the trip helps inspire the young men to make positive life choices. "It gives them the opportunity to see the positive things and what being positive can lead to," he said. "A lot of times young men, when they fall off the wrong path, it's because they haven't been exposed to some of the positive things that they could be exposed to by behaving and being just following down the path of education."
As many of the young men explore the world beyond their city limits for the first time through these historic sites, leaders hope it will help them drive towards a better future.
"The world is huge, so when you get to see different parts, you get to see how people live," McCray said. "It gives them an appreciation for what they have or may not have at home."
The group is set to return Monday, June 12.
The Omega Lamplighter organization was founded by Royle King, who now serves as the Executive Director of Tallahassee's Council on the Status of Men and Boys. That council was created to lead a comprehensive community effort to reduce homicides and non-fatal gun violence among males in the Tallahassee-Leon County area.
