Welcome to Sojourn to the Past

Often the word “donation” is associated with monetary contributions, which can deter many (especially with today’s economy) from providing the assistance they might otherwise happily bestow. There are, however, many other ways for us to give back and help others in need.

We can donate our time. Try volunteering at a local community center for at risk youth, assisting the elderly at a senior center, lending a hand in a community garden or serving soup at a homeless shelter. Giving a few hours out of each week to places like these helps to establish and perpetuate a more inclusive, happy, healthy and safe community. Not only is volunteering personally rewarding, but it can also be fun as you get to meet new interesting people, and can always invite friends or family members to share your experience.

We also have numerous resources to share that are not obvious choices as necessities for those in need. This article from the Huffington Post suggests twenty five different ways that we can donate without spending a dime. From cutting your hair for the foundation Locks of Love to “donating” the bumper of your car to stickers spreading your humanitarian ideas, the article suggestions are not only useful and very practical, but inspire creative thought to all of the other resources that we may be able to share with others.

What else can you think of? Submit your ideas here. Everyone has something to share! “Be the change you wish to see in the world” and start a new project to give back today.

** Please also read Investigative Reporter, MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient, and Sojourn Speaker Jerry Mitchell’s post on thinking differently related to nonviolence featuring Sojourn to the Past founder Jeff Steinberg by clicking here.

On Sunday, September 5, our nation lost a man who as a teenager helped to pave the way toward equality in education for all students. Jefferson Thomas, one of the Little Rock Nine, signed up to enroll in Central High School when he was 15 years old. When the Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, a staunch segregationist, closed down all of Little Rock’s high schools in order to prevent further integration, Thomas waited along with Carlotta Walls to return to Central High where he graduated in 1960. The actions of these nine brave students set an example for the entire country and contributed to the movement in desegregating the U.S.

Thomas’ fellow Little Rock Nine members recall his impressive athleticism and uplifting, witty sense of humor. Carlotta Walls, Melba Pateal Beals and Minnijean Brown Trickey have contributed to NPR and CNN tributes to Jefferson Thomas. They tell how Thomas used to run home after school; his speed and athleticism may have saved him from a lot of trouble. They recalled how determined Thomas was to make a difference even in such dangerous and frightening times. Still, Thomas kept a sense of humor that importantly kept his friends smiling while having to face terrorism within the walls of their high school. Trickey, Walls and Beals have expressed their deep sadness losing such a fine, close friend with whom they endured so much.

President Barack Obama, who invited the Little Rock Nine to his inauguration, and former President Bill Clinton who awarded the group the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999, both issued statements following the news of Thomas’ passing. President Obama cited the courage of Thomas and the Little Rock Nine as a major inspiration for him growing up; acknowledging the fact that the group contributed greatly to the privileges that we all enjoy today. Clinton stated that “America is a stronger, more diverse, and more tolerant nation because of the life he lived and the sacrifices he made.”

Jefferson Thomas continued to serve his country after high school. Thomas served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam following his graduation, and returned to participate in community service and promoting justice and equality for the remainder of his life. Jefferson Thomas was an ordinary young man at the age of 15 when he entered Central High School, and he accomplished extraordinary achievements. We must never forget the lessons he has exemplified of equality, fairness and acceptance. His memory gives us courage and the knowledge that we each are capable of creating positive change.

To read Huffington Post’s article commemorating the life of Jefferson Thomas click here.

While there are many well-advertised movies currently in theaters, one potentially powerful and revolutionary documentary has gone under the radar. From the producers of An Inconvenient Truth and nonprofit Global Zero, Countdown to Zero brings us an eye opening film urging people to request that their governments hold zero nuclear weapons.

Since the first atomic bomb was created there has been a race in the production of nuclear weapons worldwide. While on the surface people look at these weapons of mass destruction as protection, the documentary requests that deep thought be given to how well these monstrous inventions actually protect us. The film questions how a bomb, when in use can wipe out an entire city and all its civilians, can be considered a safety precaution. Or what happens when there are accidents in the building or storing of nukes? These weapons have the potential to destroy our planet, and Countdown to Zero is calling for a movement to end their creation.

Although the possession of nuclear weapons is linked to power status throughout the world (Myanmar recently has begun plans to develop weapons of mass destruction), the movement encouraged by Countdown to Zero already has many military and political supporters, including President Obama who agreed with President Medvedev of Russia to begin to cut down their respective supplies of nuclear weapons. The documentary urges that the agreement and approval of these influential figures is not enough–they need the support of their constituents (and pressure to stay the course) in order to achieve these goals.

Nuclear weapons have widely been accepted as the status quo, but now Countdown to Zero is asking viewers to rethink their role on our planet.

Follow the link below to view the trailer and sign a declaration if you support the documentary’s cause. Treat yourself and bring your friends to this insightful documentary!

View the trailer and sign a declaration to show your support: http://www.takepart.com/zero

The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, CA is currently featuring Courage: The Vision to End Segregation, The Guts to Fight For It. This exhibit focuses on the movement of Latino families in Southern California to fight segregation in public schools. These families’ struggles ultimately led to the historical Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education. Courage commemorates those ordinary people who took a stand for justice; from their stories we can all be inspired to continue the fight for social justice and freedom.

Show your support to the Museum of Tolerance by attending this insightful exhibition if you have the chance. The museum regularly features interactive exhibits to engage visitors and create an impact that not only informs but challenges visitors to think critically about the present and potential positive change they can contribute to the community.

The exhibit opened February 8^th of this year and will continue until August 23^rd. Visit MOT’s official website to learn more about visiting: http://www.museumoftolerance.com/site/c.tmL6KfNVLtH/b.4865973/k.96C/Special_Exhibitions.htm

You may also visit their Action Lab online to engage in discussions and get ideas for projects so you can begin to promote peace and social justice: http://www.museumoftolerance.com/site/c.tmL6KfNVLtH/b.4866065/k.10CE/Action_Lab.htm

Remember, Congressman John Lewis says, “Let the spirit of history be your guide.”

Click here to Make Your Pledge

While Sojourn to the Past spreads the message that language is power and hateful language is a form of violence, the use of the n-word is on the rise in high schools across the United States. A recent Clarion Ledger article by Sojourn Speaker Jerry Mitchell discussed the results of a survey of Jackson, Mississippi high school students that reveals the n-word is frequently and casually thrown around in everyday language. Students who admitted to using the n-word rationalize their use of the term with excuses alleging that racism is no longer an issue and that it’s meant affectionately.

Do you think this word can be detached from its historical implications? The n-word has been and still is used as a hateful way to diminish African-Americans.  Through language, a group is made out to be inferior and so begins the process of dehumanization that may lead to violence.  Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine – the first nine black students to desegregate high schools in the country, argues that this ignorance and use of the word is actually racial self hatred. Those who include it in their vocabulary are further hurting themselves and their communities by refusing to take a stand to eliminate such a hateful term.

Consider the language you and the people around you use. If there are any discriminatory terms in your vernacular, think of the various other words that can be used to replace them.  For example, if you use the n-word when you mean to indicate friendship, consider using words like friend, brother, sister or buddy.

Visit:

and take the pledge promising that you will not use the n-word or other hateful language ever again.  Join others who have pledged like Jerry Mitchell and Myrlie Evers-Williams, NAACP Chair Emeritus and widow of late NAACP field worker Medgar Evers, in ending violent language and spreading the word on to others. Pledge today to spread peace and nonviolence!

If you subscribe to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) newsletter, the story of this monumental injustice as already arrived to your inbox.  However, if you don’t, allow us to share the shocking contents of a recent message:

“Feb. 16, 2010

Dear Friend,

As you may have read in yesterday’s New York Times, we’ve just filed an important new lawsuit against the town of Homer, Louisiana, where an elderly black man was shot dead by a white police officer while standing harmlessly on his own front porch.

Our suit seeks justice for Bernard Monroe’s widow and his five children. But there’s also a larger issue at stake — the pattern of racial profiling and police harassment of African Americans that led directly to Monroe’s death.

Last year, the white police chief in the town told a newspaper: “If I see three or four young black men walking down the street, I have to stop them and check their names. I want them to be afraid every time they see the police that they might get arrested.”

Monroe, 73, a retiree known as “Mr. Ben,” was enjoying a gathering of family and friends on a mild winter day last February when two white police officers pulled up in front of the modest wood-frame house he had called home for the past 25 years.

For no good reason, the officers chased his adult son into the house. They had no warrant, and nobody there was wanted for any crime. When Mr. Monroe walked up the front porch steps during the commotion to check on his elderly wife, an officer who was still inside the house opened fire through the screen door, hitting him multiple times in the chest, back and arms.

This terrible tragedy should never have happened. And it wouldn’t have happened if the police had acted responsibly. But, apparently, this type of police intimidation was well known to African Americans in the town.

Earlier on the day Monroe was killed, the police officer who fired the deadly shots had also searched and questioned other African Americans who were doing nothing more than sitting in their yard, minding their own business.

I’m outraged that this type of racial profiling is still occurring almost half a century after Jim Crow segregation was struck down in the South. The people of Homer deserve a police department that protects, rather than harasses them.

We’re determined to get justice for the Monroe family and to stop unlawful discrimination.

The dangers of bigotry are clear. Please speak out against racial profiling and every form of discrimination. Thank you for supporting our work and for everything you do to promote justice in your own community.

Sincerely, Morris Dees Founder, Southern Poverty Law Center “

If that doesn’t spur some level of disbelief and outrage upon reading, you might want to check your pulse.  The fact that this is 2010 – 101 years after the founding of the NAACP, 44 years after the passing of the Civil Rights act of 1964, and more than a year after the election of an African American man as the President of the United States of America – and this type of blatant discrimination is still occurring, is both disturbing and simply sad.  And, the fact that this instance is not just by American citizens, but by law enforcement officers, makes it all the more unbelievable.

If you would like to contact or donate to the SPLC, please use the following links, provided in their email:

You can donate to the Southern Poverty Law Center online.

Follow SPLC on Twitter.
Become a fan of SPLC on Facebook.
SPLC welcomes feedback. Contact them online.

Or contact them via mail:
Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Ave.
Montgomery, AL 36104

It is reasons precisely like the story above – that the Monroe family is not alone in their suffering of a death in the family due to a horridly unjust wrong-doing – why Sojourn to the Past was started in the first place.  By showing young people what non-violent, unified people can achieve when fighting for what they know deep-down is right – only then will generations be changed forever, and permanent social movements endure.

Have you ever been involved in a conversation with a group – perhaps old friends, or maybe new colleagues or neighbors – and the talk turns to a familiar question: “Do you remember where you were when…?”  Sometimes it’s a recent pop-culture event: “Do you remember where you were when you found out Michael Jackson died?”  Sometimes it’s a life event that changes the country: “Do you remember where you were when the Twin Towers were hit, or when they crumbled to the streets of New York City?”  It may be a sporting event, great-grandfathers recall where they were when ‘The Babe’ called his shot; it might be political – women in their 60s right now vividly remember where they were when President JFK was shot and assassinated.  It’s a big question, with bigger answers, and the biggest implications.

Sadly, as generations age, there are always fewer and fewer people who can give first-hand accounts of these huge, and worldly events.  The final survivors of the Holocaust, people who were passengers who survived the sinking of the Titanic… are saying their last good-byes, and unless their stories are begged of, told, and documented, those memories can be lost forever.

For precisely this reason, a recent compilation by The New York Times, honoring heroes of the Civil Rights-era, holds within it more value than anyone can put a price on.  It’s a multi-media experience than students, hard-working family members, and retirees can enjoy together.  That close friends – perhaps with grandparents on opposite sides of the theoretical divide – can share, learn from, and allow to spark meaningful and teaching dialogue toward further understanding.

Within it are contemporary pictures of past milestones and famous and moving faces, historical photographs, interviews, audio clips, and more.

This Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day weekend, which always fall during Black History Month, take a moment to explore this moving collage of unforgettable moments in this essential era in American history – the Civil Rights era – when the convictions of many brave people manifested into a fight for equality for all.

The hard copy of The New Yorker periodical should be on newsstands today, Friday, February 12, 2010.

Steeped in tradition, “In Performance at the White House” is a regular cultural music and performance event at the White House that has been hosted by first families for decades now, dating back to the time of the Carter administration.  Produced since 1987 by WETA television – Washington’s source for compelling television – the event draws high-profile Washingtonians and honored guests, artists and activist alike.

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Morgan Freeman, a presenter at the White House for “In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement.” Tapes February 10, broadcasts February 11 on PBS stations nationwide. [Photo Credit: Nigel Parry

Sojourn to the Past is also extremely excited that recently, Joan Baez [who sits on our National Advisory Committee] joined the concert line-up.  She’ll perform “We Shall Overcome” – which is a tune close to Sojourner’s hearts that the students sing nearly daily on their journey.

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Joan Baez performs during the “In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement” concert in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 9, 2010. [Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton

The concert will also showcase a reunion of three of the original Freedom Singers, who traveled over 50,000-plus miles during the 1960′s – singing for the cause of freedom for all Americans.  During the February 10th concert (taped), the original Freedom Singers will be: Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Rutha Harris, and Charles Neblett.

The President will make opening remarks at this concert, held in the East Room, which will stream live on www.whitehouse.gov, and also result in a one-hour concert special produced by NPR and available starting tomorrow, Feb. 12th.

Take advantage of this wonderful collection of talented performers honoring our nation’s storied history, and share it with your friends and family.  A complete list of performers and guests to participate in the show can be found here.

Today, Sojourn to the Past was honored to be featured in the same media outlet and by the same reporter who has brought truth to the surface of countless civil rights cases. Jerry Mitchell, who is one of the speakers on the Sojourn journey, has dedicated his life and career to uncovering the truth and today we were humbled by his words and praises on his ‘Journey to Justice’ blog on the Clarion Ledger‘s website. If you would like to read the blog, click on the image below.