Monday, May 09, 2011

Eagerly anticipating the Freedom Riders documentary…

I’m sorry I’ve been absent of late.  I was swarmed with work and then I caught a mild case of the plague that I’m sorta recovered from.

Mercy.

Anyhoo, let’s jump right in.

I’m beyond excited about the upcoming PBS Freedom Riders documentary!  The story of the Civil Right’s freedom riders is one of my favorites for and a huge inspiration.

Lot’s a people look back at civil right’s activists as heroic…and they were and are.

But I also find inspiration in learning how normal…dare I say, average…many of the freedom riders were.

I look at their mug shots, pictures taken after they were arrested for attempting to exercise their constitutionally protected right to travel without being segregated in the South, and I see people I could know…students, sisters, brothers, fathers, athletes, musicians and so forth and so on.

I see you and me…doing the incredible, making history, and triggering a confrontation between bullshit and reality that ultimately made the world a better place.

Outstanding…amazing…unstoppable…and yes, do-able.

I see hope for the future in those faces from the past.

And I can’t wait to find out more about them just like I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish today.

One of the perks of being an organizer is being able to witness people waking up to their individual strength and power…finding their voice and putting on their walking shoes.

I owe a lot to those brave folks who participated in the Freedom Rides in the ‘60s…but I truly believe their greatest gift is that they demonstrated to power of the people and that the movement was of the people.

March on, y’all!

March on…

3 comments:

Eddie said...

"One of the perks of being an organizer is being able to witness people waking up to their individual strength and power…finding their voice and putting on their walking shoes."

This is so true and a dynamic that many who comment/ blog/ and talk about politics often have never experienced or minimize.

People aren't stupid. People aren't Gods. People are human, and as human beings the potential for an awakening always exists.

Thanks for posting this, I might have to quote you.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait. My mom remembers people from her church going down there to ride the buses.

Anonymous said...

"One of the perks of being an organizer is being able to witness people waking up to their individual strength and power…finding their voice and putting on their walking shoes."

Yes, it is, absolutely is, as an organizer myself I try to express that experience to others who've not done it, who don't feel that energy in their bones like I do and they just don't get it.

Thanks, you do. I just got to your site and I am bookmarking you, will be around some more.

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