Thus, we self-consciously called our Movement, the Black Freedom Movementand demanded “FreedomNow,” not civil rights now. We composed and sang freedomsongs, not civil rights songs. And we built freedomschools, not civil rights schools, and we risked our lives on freedomrides, not civil rights rides. You can always say there was indeed a fight for civil rights. But although civil rights were an important concern of the Black Freedom Movement, the Black Freedom struggle was committed to freedom as a more expansive concept, practice and goal. In a word, it was concerned about freedom from oppression and freedom to grow, develop and come into the fullness of ourselves. ... read more »

During both the Holocaust of enslavement and the era of segregation, leaving the plantation was a metaphor, mental process and actual practice of freedom. It was a freeing oneself mentally and physically, thinking freedom and then acting in ways that led to its achievement as did Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Fannie Lou Hamer, Messenger Muhammad and countless others in their rejection of and resistance to enslavement and segregation. Clearly, it is rumored and reported in various official and unofficial send-outs and circles that we have all left the plantation and are all free. But today, regardless of official edited and embellished reports; images of mixed couples and company in TV commercials and movies; and our wishing and wanting to believe we are beyond its borders and bondage, the plantation and its politics remains with us. ... read more »

In April 1963, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, and James Bevel of Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) along with other members of the SCLC set out to desegregate Birmingham through the use of non-violent acts like protests, marches, and boycotts.  ... read more »

“I’m [was] born and raised in this segregated city without any Home Rule rights and no equal rights when the city was segregated,” Norton said. “I’m a third generation Washingtonian and I’m the great, great granddaughter of a runaway slave, so motivation is built into my DNA.”   ... read more »

On February 26, the California Legislature passed a joint resolution in support of the national Bayard Rustin Stamp campaign. Spearheaded by Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo (AD 51), the concurrent resolution ACR-27 “honors the legacy of Bayard Rustin, who stood at the confluence of the greatest struggles for civil, legal, and human rights by African Americans, as well as the LGBTQ community, and whose focus on civil and economic rights and belief in peace and the dignity of all people remains as relevant today as ever.” ... read more »

“Had there been no May 17, 1954 (the day the Supreme Court ruled in Brown V. Board of Education), I’m not sure there would have been a Little Rock. I’m not sure there would have been a Martin Luther King Jr., or Rosa Parks, had it not been for May 17, 1954. It created an environment for us to push, for us to pull,” Lewis said. ... read more »

I was born of a White mother and a Black father in 1961 in Southern California during a time when America was experiencing segregation across the nation.  Although many of us in California did not feel the same effects as many of our relatives in the South, segregation was still alive and well throughout the country. The Civil Rights Movement was in its beginning stages and the 50’s and 60’s were pivotal in changing the face and climate of America. The Civil Rights Movement was organized by African Americans with the goal to help end racial discrimination and provide equal rights to all under the law. ... read more »

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) has enjoyed a long history of supporting organized labor, particularly during the Civil Rights Movement when many unions and civil rights-focused organizations worked together to secure legislation that benefitted African Americans. ... read more »

Lauterbach’s book attempts a balanced and unbiased perspective on what Withers’ legacy will be: a traitorous informant who spied for the FBI or a blackmail victim forced to do as he was told. ... read more »

As we celebrate each year our strivings and struggles through history, the Black Freedom Movement is always a central focus. But we may not call it by its rightful name, because it has been renamed by the established order as the Civil Rights Movement and this has implications for us in terms of self-determination and how we define our goals, what we count as victory, and the lessons and spirit of life and struggle we learn and absorb from this world historical struggle. Our urgent and constant call was “Freedom Now!” and even now, it is no less necessary. ... read more »

The Brotherhood Crusade showed another story of athletes in activism when they hosted an intimate conversation between two-time NBA champion Craig Hodges and Olympic gold medalist Ron Brown. The event was about public figures who take a stand and sacrifice their jobs to help other.  ... read more »

As we bid farewell to an iconic voice for many generations, we remember what made Nancy Wilson nothing short of a Legend.  ... read more »

In an auditorium at the University of Southern California’s School of Architecture, students, faculty and the general public listened and participated in an interdisciplinary conversation between the School’s first black Dean, ... read more »

The Gospel Music Heritage Month Foundation’s (GMHMF) 10th Evolution of Gospel presented an exhilarating, spirit-filled tribute to the life and legacy of the late great Aretha Franklin on a stage where she once performed; the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  The evening featured soul-stirring musical performances from some of gospel’s leading artists and a litany of powerful narratives that paid homage to her expansive body of music and contribution to the civil rights movement.  ... read more »

   The institutionalization of racial difference codified white peoples’ refusal to grant Blacks such basic democratic rights as citizenship, access to the legal system and the right to vote. ... read more »