Frederick Douglass High School in Lexington hosted some special guest speakers recently.

Five African-American cousins shared with an auditorium full of students what it was like to go to school before and after desegregation.

Among the panelists, the first student to integrate into Fayette County Public Schools.

I just think it was really important for them to come and give us their experience because, like, the experiences that they had is not ours.

I was a young girl who did not give my parents too much trouble because I had to answer to both of them.

And they always told me, You can go and strive to be what you want to be, but you might run into some headaches.

We had people from the old Douglass in the old Dunbar that was originally established in the area.

Segregation come and speak to us about their experiences with segregation, desegregation, and how it affected them on their education.

It's important because as students read in the history book, sometimes they don't recognize that there are people who have lived through those experiences.

You know, they've read about Martin Luther King, They've they've read about Malcolm X.

They've read about Muhammad Ali.

They've read about all these historical figures.

And then there's no discussion in terms of, well, these people who are 80 and 90 years old have actually lived through those experiences.

I was in the class in a psychology class.

And do you want to know what that professor said when he walked in and saw this one face in that class?

And he said, I've never taught Negroes before.

All they have ever done is wait.

You don't.

That's what I see.

That's what I feel like.

Having them come here and share their struggles and essentially say that they were able to make themselves who they are.

Throughout.

It is pretty important to me because if like, even like, even if I don't have those struggles, I can still make it.

Just like.

Oh, do you know what's happened to me the last few years?

Can you walk along with Lafayette has come up with a scholarship for students of color who want to go into education.

And that scholarship is in my name.

We can come into an environment where you get 15, 16, 17, 18 year old students that that can hear how these people have experienced that history.

And if they can understand what they've gone through and what they experience, then maybe they won't repeat it, that it won't be something, you know.

Hopefully we don't have to go back and experience the same thing to go forward.

Hopefully we can keep going forward to.

Stand up for what you believe, but treat your fellow man as you want to be treated.

That's all I ask of you.

The Black Student Union at Frederick Douglass High School organized that panel discussion.

Pretty powerful.