Black Youth Vote! Screens Freedom Riders!

On April 5, 2012, a diverse group of youth and elders gathered for a screening of Freedom Riders at the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum in Washington, D.C.

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Philanthropy News Digest Profiles Freedom Riders Community Engagement Efforts

Earlier this month, Philanthropy News Digest's blog PhilanTopic featured an article on the community engagement campaigns for the award-winning film Freedom Riders entitled "'Freedom Riders': Lessons for a New Generation." Written by contributor Kathryn Pyle, the article included an interview with Firelight's community engagement specialist, Sonya Childress. Firelight Media launched a community engagement campaign for the film to highlight lessons from the Rides, draw parallels between the struggles of the 1960s and today, and support youth-led action around current issues. Read more

A Word of Thanks from Stanley Nelson

Click here to check out this note of gratitude from our Executive Director, Stanley Nelson. It includes a 2011 Year-in-Review for Firelight.

FREEDOM RIDERS - December 2011 Events

Check out these December 2011 screening events for Freedom Riders.

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United in Courage: A Community Resource Guide for the film Freedom Riders

Firelight Media's Community Action Division is pleased to announce United in Courage: A Community Resource Guide for the film FREEDOM RIDERS. United in Courage includes tips on how to work with local Freedom Riders, sample discussion questions, a glossary of organizing terms, and essays from Stanley Nelson, Marian Wright Edelman, and youth and adult community organizers. It also includes examples on the many ways the film can be a tool to educate and engage your community–especially young people–to take action on issues like immigrant rights, voter disenfranchisement, educational reform and literacy. Our goal is to share this guide with as many people and organizations as possible so that you too can incorporate the powerful story of the Freedom Riders into your work.

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"Immigrant Rights Activists are Obama's Freedom Riders"

Check out the article written by our national partner, the Center for American Progress, on the links between the efforts of the Freedom Riders and those of immigrant students pressing President Obama on the DREAM Act. Below are some excerpts from the piece, entitled "Immigrant Rights Activists are Obama's Freedom Riders" written by Henry Fernandez, a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress:

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THE BROTHERHOOD/SISTER SOL SCREENS FREEDOM RIDERS IN GHANA

The Freedom Riders Community Engagement Campaign Goes to Ghana

Last month our New York City partner Brotherhood/SisterSol brought a contingent of young adults from Harlem to Ghana, West Africa for their annual International Study Program (ISP). While there they hosted a screening of FREEDOM RIDERS for over 200 students at the Vakpo Secondary Technical School. Two Brotherhood/SisterSol alumnae introduced the film: Lauren Crawford (sophomore, SUNY New Paltz) and Zora Howard (sophomore, Yale University).

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Community Spotlight: Dr. A Lenora Taitt-Mugubane

Dr. A. Lenora Taitt-Magubane is a participant in the FREEDOM RIDERS Community Engagement Campaign Speakers Bureau. She became involved in the civil rights movement while attending Spelman College where she joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. In March of 1960, she participated in a sit-in with a group of students and faculty at a performance of the musical “My Fair Lady”, held at the segregated Atlanta Municipal Auditorium. Two weeks later Dr. Magubane was arrested at a lunch counter sit-in with 77 other students and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As a result, she spent 15 days in jail. In December 1961, she became one of the 11 Albany, Georgia Freedom Riders who tested interstate travel on a train from Atlanta, GA. Once again, she and her fellow Freedom Riders were arrested and spent two weeks in jail.

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JOIN THE CAMPAIGN!

Firelight Media's Freedom Riders Community Engagement Campaign
The story of the Freedom Rides offers a dramatic lesson in the revolutionary power of civic participation. The daring actions of a small diverse group of young adults emboldened a mass movement that ultimately transformed the very fabric of this country. We believe this powerful example of a successful organizing effort will inspire young people, and their adult allies, that are affected by, and mobilizing around contemporary issues such as disproportionate sentencing, immigrant rights, youth violence and environmental justice.

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