Freeland resident ERINA HORIKAWA was part of an effort to expand civil rights education in local schools through Whitman Teaches the Movement, a partnership between Whitman College, Walla Walla Public Schools and the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance project.

Founded in 2011, the program sends student volunteers from Whitman College to lead conversations about civil rights and social justice to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr., Day.

This year, 85 volunteers taught about 12,000 students in K-12 classrooms after attending training sessions to prepare for their roles as educators.

This year’s curriculum included lessons about Ruby Bridges, Jackie Robinson, the Greensboro sit-ins, immigration and MLK’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”