FWD from Bruce Hartford - CRMV: For Freedom Movement Veterans Only

FYI.  A good and solid initiative. (H)
                        
SAVE THE DATE: April 5th 2014

Fifty years ago the Civil Rights Movement altered forever the Jim Crow 
face of America. Led by young people, it was a mass popular uprising 
that gave birth to a range of social and political movements that still 
shape and affect our politics to this day. Now, 50 years on, it is 
appropriate for those of us whose boots were on the ground in the 1960s 
to look back with the perspective of decades and frankly assess with 
each other what we accomplished, where we failed, what it means for 
today, and how our lives were shaped by that struggle.

On Saturday, April 5th, 2014, Bay Area Veterans of the Civil Rights 
Movement invites veterans of the Southern Freedom Movement to gather in 
Oakland CA for an all-day session where we will break into discussion 
groups small enough that everyone can equally participate in frank 
discussions. This will not be a public event. It will just be us, we 
whose boots were on the ground. No reporters, no academics, no one we 
need to impress or motivate. There will be no keynote address, no 
position papers, no panel presentations. *And no attempt at any group 
resolution.*

All veterans of the Southern Freedom Movement who worked in any of the 
southern states, any years, any organizations, any projects are invited 
to participate.

Each group discussion will be audio-recorded, and transcriptions will 
later be posted in the "Discussions" section of the CRMVets website 
(http://www.crmvet.org/disc/dischome.htm) for scholars, researchers and 
the public. All participants will be able to review, amend, delete, or 
expand any portion of their own comments before the transcript is posted.

Our tentative schedule currently looks like this:

1000-1015  Arrive, mingle, coffee tea & pastries
1015-1100  Singing, intro & explanation of process

1100-100  Small groups--Evaluation of the Freedom Movement
What was achieved?
What did we fail to achieve?
What did it all mean?

100-200   Lunch & Break (nap?)
200-215   Singing

215-415   Small groups--How did our participation affect us?
Why did we participate?
What did it mean for us?
How did it change us?

415-500   Remembrances of absent brothers & sisters. Singing.

Perhaps dinner?

Logistics:

We have secured an excellent venue in downtown Oakland that is 3 blocks 
from a BART station and one block from $3-a day parking lots. It is 
wheelchair accessible. We will be providing refreshments and lunch. This 
is a free event, though we'll be asking for voluntary donations to help 
cover expenses.

Please RSVP by replying to this email if you wish to participate. The 
location and other information will only be sent to those who RSVP. If 
you're not certain that health or finances will permit you to attend, 
please RSVP anyway and indicate that you'll participate if possible. 
(Unfortunately, we have no funds to defray transportation costs.)

-- 
Bruce Hartford
Webspinner: Civil Rights Movement Veterans (http://www.crmvet.org/)
Sojourner's Blog: http://ohfreedom.wordpress.com


HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq / 
St. Francis Abenaki / St. Regis Mohawk 
Member, National Writers Union AFL-CIO

Check out our massive social justice website
www.hunterbear.org  The site is dedicated to our
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http://hunterbear.org/cloudy_gray.htm

SHOOTING LUPUS --  Driving this oft-lethal deadly 
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http://hunterbear.org/shooting_lupus.htm

See our very full COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
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See my  new expanded/updated "Organizer's Book," 
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And this book is also an activist's how-to manual: 
 http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm   

The Stormy Adoption of an Indian Child [My Father]:
http://hunterbear.org/James%20and%20Salter%20and%20Dad.htm:
(Photos)