ATLANTA, Ga. (CitizenWire) — The Georgia Humanities Council, in partnership with the PBS series American Experience, Morehouse College and 16 other Atlanta area organizations are pleased to announce that the forty 2011 Student Freedom Riders will join us for Freedom Riders – Atlanta.
Freedom Riders – Atlanta is a film screening, luncheon, and afternoon of dialogue pertaining to the 1961 Freedom Rides. This event will take place at the Leadership Center at Morehouse College from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on May 11, 2011.
About the 2011 Student Freedom Ride:
The 2011 Freedom Riders are forty college students from across the nation, selected from approximately 1000 applicants. From May 6 – 16, 2011, they will retrace the route of the original rides from Washington D.C. to New Orleans, with stops in Augusta and Atlanta. Two Georgia students were selected for this trip: sophomore JoyEllen Freeman from the University of Georgia and Kaitlyn Whiteside, a senior at Georgia Institute of Technology.
Freedom Riders – Atlanta:
* The day will begin with a one-hour sneak peek screening of Freedom Riders, a new documentary by award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson (Wounded Knee, The Murder of Emmett Till). The film will premiere nationally on the PBS series American Experience on May 16, 2011, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the original Rides. The acclaimed film tells the inspirational and powerful story of the more than 400 black and white men and women who, using non-violent tactics, risked their lives to challenge segregated facilities in the South in 1961.
* Lunch and a talk by Ray Arsenault, historian and author of the book Freedom Riders (upon with the movie is based). The talk will provide context and prepare guests for an afternoon of small group dialogue on the rides, personal perspectives on civic engagement, and civic engagement in metro-Atlanta.
* Other special guests include 1961 Freedom Riders Mrs. Julia Aaron, Rev. C.T. Vivian, Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Charles Person, Joan Mulholland, Ernest "Rip" Patton, Helen and Robert Singleton and more.
Conveners:
Freedom Riders Atlanta is brought to you by: ARC Media, Anti-Defamation League, Asian Pacific American Historical Society, Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education, Atlanta Office – American Jewish Committee, Atlanta Regional Commission, Auburn Avenue Research Library for African American History and Culture, Civic League for Regional Atlanta, Collective Deliberation Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Emory University Center for Ethics, Emory University – Transforming Community Project, Georgia Humanities Council, Georgia Public Broadcasting, Georgia State University, Morehouse College- Rabin King Initiative, Morehouse College – Martin Luther King Jr. Collection, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, PBS-American Experience. Sponsors for Freedom Riders Atlanta include the Georgia Humanities Council, Morehouse College, National Endowment for the Humanities and American Experience.
About the Council:
Freedom Riders – Atlanta is the last of a series of film screenings in Georgia sponsored by the Georgia Humanities Council in partnership with the PBS series American Experience. Other screenings took place at Emory University and in Albany, Kennesaw, and Savannah.
The Georgia Humanities Council (http://www.georgiahumanities.org) is a statewide nonprofit organization working to ensure that humanities and culture remain an integral part of the lives of all Georgians. The Council serves the state of Georgia through its grant program and projects, and increases awareness about the history, stories, and ideas that inform our lives, so that we can make better decisions for the future.
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