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2014 Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Set for March 6-9
This year's jubilee activities include a workshop by Rev. William Barber II, leader of North Carolina's Moral Monday Movement, as well as the Unity Breakfast, many festivites and the pilgrimage across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
The Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee, which commemorates the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the Selma-to-Montgomery March and the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, will take place March 6-10, 2014, in Selma, AL.
The 49th commemoration kicks off on Thursday March 6th with a traditional mass meeting at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Selma with speaker Rev. William Barber, head of the North Carolina NAACP State Conference and leader of North Carolina’s Moral Mondays Movement.
Other events over the four days include: a music and street festival with live entertainment and vendors, the annual Unity Breakfast with a featured guest speaker; the Freedom Flame Awards honoring heroes from the past and those continuing in the legacy of past heroes, including actor Lou Gossett Jr. and former Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin; an Education summit, a Youth Summit and the annual re-enactment of the Bridge Crossing (download the schedule here).
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49th Annual Jubilee Kicks Off Yearlong Voter Registration Campaign
Organizers use the 49th Anniversary of the Selma Movement to raise awareness and register ONE MILLION NEW VOTERS by the 50th Anniversary in March 2015.
The 49th Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee commemorating Bloody Sunday and the Selma-to-Montgomery marches in 1965 kicks off a yearlong voter registration campaign to restore the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was signed into law as a direct result of the civil rights actions in Selma and surrounding counties nearly 50 years ago.
A regional association of 40 organizations and activists across the South who are fighting for voting rights formed the Saving OurSelves (S.O.S.) Movement for Justice and Democracy. Its members organized the Marching to the 50th: 50 Cities/ 50 Cars/ 50 Voters At A Time campaign that begins on Monday, March 10 with “The Caravan for Democracy: From the State Capitols to the Nation’s Capitol” following culminating activities on Sunday, March 9 after the annual pilgrimage across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma.
S.O.S. organizers and activists say there is nothing to commemorate if the unequivocal right to vote, without voter suppression tactics, is not fully restored, in honor of those who were jailed, beaten, gassed and killed to win voting rights for all citizens.
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This Weekend, TEDx Birmingham and Other Ideas Worth Spreading
A pair of young African Americans is lead a panel discussion Friday, "The Truth Behind the Magic" Forum, before Saturday's "Rediscover the Magic" TEDx Birmingham Screening.
You are cordially invited to participate in a Weekend of Magic: Friday & Saturday, February 28th. The two-day event includes "Truth Behind the Magic: Getting Creative with Community Engagement," a collaborative action forum on Friday, February 28, from 7-10 p.m., plus a viewing party of the TEDx Birmingham Talk, "Rediscover the Magic" on Saturday, March 1st from 3-7 p.m.
Both events take place at The Foreign Exchange Experience, located at 433 20th Street South Birmingham, AL 35233.
The event is organized by Omari Ho-Sang of All Streets All People (#ASAP Birmingham) and Arden K. Blackwell of B.Well International in response to Mayor Bell’s call to action for young professionals to invest in Birmingham Forward's 50 year strategic plan. City Councilwoman Sheila Tyson of District 6 has partnered with the dynamic duo for the Weekend of Magic in honor of Black History Month.
The Friday night collaborative action forum revolves around people who are rofessionals and thought leaders in Education, Cultural Arts, Media, Business, Health/Social Services, Faith-Based Communities, Government, & Grassroots Engagement. They will join forces in a collaborative approach to develop holistic solutions for society’s most troubling issues and explore historical topics often considered taboo, that still effect neighborhoods of color.
“The time is long past for piecemeal initiatives and social services”, says Blackwell, one of the organizers. “Thought leaders across all sectors of society must unify and strategically organize for a collective impact to transform our communities.”
Panelists include representatives from YouthServe Birmingham, Vulcan Museum, the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham, Tuskegee University, First United Presbyterian Church of Forestdale and others. Marcus Carson, founder of Growing Kings, will moderate the forum.
Friday's event ends with cultural entertainment featuring Alabama’s Nu Nation, a musical group of young artists spanning from Huntsville to Mobile who highlight ways to use positive music to impact youth in their communities.
Admission to the event is $5, or alternatively, potluck dish or 2 charitable canned goods. Attendees will also have the opportunity to sign- up for service opportunities. They are also free to bring invite volunteers to their organizations as well.
Saturday's viewing party of the TEDx Birmingham Talk, "Rediscover the Magic" on March 1st allows citizens 18 or older to gather and participate in Saturday’s sold out seminars over free food, drink specials and open discussion from 3-7 p.m.
Admission is $1, and all are welcomed to attend.
Weekend of Magic is a unique celebration of innovation in community organizing and social development. Birmingham City Councilor Sheila Tyson of District 6 has several upcoming programs planned for 2014.
“I am excited to be working with two dynamic and progressive young leaders," says Councilor Tyson. "These ladies are committed to a brighter future for the City of Birmingham and generations to come. Weekend of Magic is surely the beginning of a new and creative approach to transform our neighborhoods.”
For more information, email Arden K. Blackwell at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Omari Ho-sang at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or Counciilor Tyson's administrative assistant Kelvin Datcher at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
TEDxBirmingham 2014 is a day-long mind spa on March 1, 2014, at UAB's Alys Stephens Center in Birmingham, Alabama. It will feature 15 local speakers sharing ideas to help attendees “Rediscover the Magic” of Birmingham. There will also be several artistic performers featured on stage, as well as select TED talks shown.
The power of “Ideas Worth Spreading” will continue outside of the theater during numerous breaks, allowing ample opportunities for attendees to connect and converse. The day will end with a reception featuring a tasting from Chris Hastings of the Hot and Hot Fish Club.
Attendees of TEDxBirmingham will represent a diverse cross-disciplinary mix of people, ranging from civic and business leaders to professionals, educators, technologists, artists, and more. Being a part of TEDxBirmingham is an opportunity to share ideas and experiences with this amazing cross section of people. In addition to the live program, a free livestream will be available on the TEDxBirmingham website for the duration of the event.
See the list of speakers HERE. Click on the image below to watch the video.
Jordan Davis: Thoughts from A Black Teenager
A Black teenager shares his concerns and fears after the trial of Michael Dunn in the shooting death of Jordan Davis.
Last year after the Trayvon Martin verdict, I reposted the writing of Donald Watkins, a successful African American businessman by any measure and parent who loves his children. He found himself expressing age-old advice to his sons who were supposedly living in “post-racial America,” led by the nation’s first openly known African American president.
And now, virtually a year later, after the Jordan Davis trial, more black parents and their sons are expressing the same fears that haunted the steps of their forefathers. Like Donald Watkin’s piece, I felt compelled to share the blog post of another young black male who questions how to navigate in his own country. What follows are the thoughts of Miles Ezeilo:
I get scared every time I turn on the news now. My thoughts on the verdict of Jordan Davis, the 17-year-old young African American man who was shot to death by Michael Dunn are simple: as a black boy in this day and age, my trust and sense of safety is dwindling as I write this.
First Trayvon Martin, then Renisha McBride, and now Jordan Davis, as well as too many others to name. What is the news telling me when people that look just like me are getting murdered just because? . . .
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