Milton Elementary students tour Bryan Stevenson exhibit

Milton Elementary fifth-graders enjoyed a walking field trip May 10 from their school to the Milton Historical Society, where they toured the Walking into Greatness: Bryan Stevenson exhibit.

Alonna Berry, interim director of the Milton Historical Society, helped Milton Elementary staff create a safe, socially distanced guided tour of the museum. With 16 students in each class, eight students were in the museum while eight students participated in activities outside.

“Given the current COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines in place, we were thrilled to be able to get our students out on a safe, socially distanced field trip,” said Gloria Ho, Milton Elementary social worker. “The historical society did an amazing job keeping students safe and engaged throughout the entire trip, and we look forward to our continued partnership with them to provide our students unique experiences.”

Bryan Stevenson is a civil rights lawyer who has dedicated his career to helping the poor, the incarcerated and the condemned. He is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala. The 2019 movie “Just Mercy,” based on his life story, has been shown in theaters across the country.

The Walking into Greatness: Bryan Stevenson exhibit opened in May 2019 in the Lydia B. Cannon Museum Annex.

The exhibit is presented as a timeline that puts Stevenson’s personal and professional history into local and national contexts as it traces the magnitude of social change that has taken place during his lifetime. While the exhibit is for all ages, it is especially designed to inspire local school-aged children to see their own potential in Stevenson’s powerful example.

Stevenson is a graduate of Cape Henlopen High School, and he and his siblings, Howard Stevenson and Christy Taylor, grew up in Milton and attended Cape schools. Especially significant for Milton Elementary students was the fact that Stevenson and his siblings attended school in the same building they do. It was fitting that these local students were the final group to tour the exhibit before it closed and learn about Stevenson’s life work.