I’ll never understand what it means to be told I can’t go some place because of the color of my skin.

I’ll never understand what it’s like to have to use a separate drinking fountain or entrance.

I’ll never understand what it’s like to have to fight for the most basic of rights.

Now, I know about Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman and George Washington Carver from the (albeit brief) sections of my history text books, but being a part of the “Know Your Black History Tour” has provided me the opportunity to gain a more intimate level of understanding of black history.

At First Congregational Church of Detroit, I got to experience part of the actual Underground Railroad. With a dozen students I was crammed into a tiny one-room hut and told we had to stay perfectly silent lest we be caught and sent back to our owners – or worse. It was dark and a bit frightening and many had trouble containing nervous giggles. It’s difficult to imagine what that experience would be like in reality.

During a tour of the Charles H. Wright Museum in Detroit, a group of students and I saw a replication slave ship. As the tour guide told stories of how slaves were stacked upon each other like freight, and how the sick, dying or dead were unceremoniously discarded overboard, I was struck with disbelief. From the African American students in my tour group however, a palpable wave of anger and sadness emanated. One student even thrust his tightly clenched fist toward the ship, pulling back at the last moment.

Perhaps the biggest lesson the tour has taught me is how far we have come as a society. We stand on the precipice of an African American accepting the Democratic nomination for the Presidency of the United States. I doubt that would have been possible even 10 years ago, and I’m proud of our country for making those strides.

I’m 33 years old and I firmly believe the blending and growing acceptance of other cultures is because of the progressive attitudes of my generation, and the generation that includes the students who have participated in the “Know Your Black History” tour these last three years. We are today’s young, active voters who are realizing our ability to create powerful change.

True, I’ll never understand what it’s like to be discriminated against because of the color of my skin. But because of the generation I am a part of, and our ability to be keen students of history and learn from the errors of our past, I’ll also never understand why someone would discriminate against another based on the color of their skin.