Knowing, Living and Teaching the Truth That Frees
Servant-leaders in the 21st century civil rights movement
I am grateful to be here with all of you because I understand what the Children's Defense Fund and the Freedom Schools mean for our country. The Children's Defense Fund and its partners are helping to carry the cause of equality, opportunity, and social justice into the 21st century. I also want to recognize the authors, publishers, historians and educators who are here in the room today, and thank you for your work to elevate the history of the Civil Rights movement and to call all of us to remember those on whose shoulders we stand. I'm honored to be here in a room of people who are committed to making the promise of America real for every student in this nation. I'm honored to be here in a room of young people who are committed to being a next generation of foot soldiers in the Civil Rights movement.
As Marian mentioned, I started out as a high school social studies teacher, and one of the things I love about Freedom Schools is the commitment to situate the work of today in historical context. I appreciate the opportunity to acknowledge that we gather here to continue work that began not just with Freedom Schools that started in 1964, but, really, to continue the work of centuries of advocacy for justice and equality. We are here standing on the shoulders of leaders who gave their lives so that we could have a better society that more fully fulfilled the promise of equality of opportunity. We have to situate our conversation tonight in the legacy of the Civil Rights Act and the important statement it represented about who we are as Americans in our commitment to equality and civil rights.
What all of you are about to do, fanning out to more than 80 communities in 30 states, is about building on that tradition by ensuring that our young people have a deep appreciation and understanding that we believe in them. We believe in the possibility that they represent. You will work in churches and school buildings and college campuses, including our vitally important Historically Black Colleges and Universities. You will reach thousands of students – students of color, students living in poverty, students whose communities are seeing the light of hope and opportunity flicker, some communities even where they fear that light has been snuffed out. But your task this summer is to bring them the light of hope and possibility that education represents. The beauty of what you're gathered here to do is to prepare yourselves. Marian and I were talking earlier today about the challenge in the Civil Rights movement of ensuring that young people were fully prepared for what they would face. Their work needed to be grounded in a spiritual commitment to non-violence and in the understanding of the sacrifices that have been made in the past. Their work needed to be grounded in understanding resistance, but that they would need to meet that resistance with love.
The power of knowing the truth
And it is important that you gather at the Haley Farm for this conversation because of the significance not only of Roots but of Alex Haley's whole body of work to a national conversation about justice.
Read and Learn so much more HERE!:
http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/knowing-li...
Posted By: agnes levine
Monday, July 18th 2016 at 1:41PM
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