 Good evening everyone as we're gathering I'm Reggie Harris and as we gather in light in the spirit of the civil rights group, we are going to be singing the songs. This is coming. Fanny Lou Hamer's favorite song, This Little Light of Mine. Sing with me. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Wear this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Wear this little light of mine, I'm gonna tell you to shine. Let it shine! Let it shine! Let it shine! Well, this little light of mine, sing now, I'm gonna let it shine Well, this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine Well, this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine For those of you who've been on the bus with us Making those stops every day through those sacred sites You know that music was the fuel of the civil rights movement So let's sing together, way down in my heart Way down in my heart, I'm gonna let it shine Well, way down in my heart, I'm gonna let it shine Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine Everywhere I go, everywhere I go I'm gonna let it shine Well, everywhere I go, I go I'm gonna let it shine Well, everywhere I go now I'm gonna let it shine Let it shine, let it shine Where ever you are in your home or even if you're listening in a car if you're listening with somebody I'm going to ask you right now to turn to somebody close to you if you're sitting with somebody and say I can't wait to hear you sing. As we sing this song we are going to go through a lot of obstacles on our way to November. We are going to wade through a lot of water. Sing this with me. Well who with those children all dressed in red you say that's gonna trouble the water. Must be the ones that Moses led that's gonna trouble the water. That's gonna trouble the water. Must be the ones getting ready to fly that's gonna trouble the boys sing it with me say wait in the water wait in the water children wait in the water dad's gonna trouble gonna trouble gonna trouble say wait in the water wait in the water children Wait in the water, God's gonna trouble the water Well, who are those children all dressed in blue God's gonna trouble the water They must be the ones that made it through God's gonna trouble the water Children say, wait in the water Wait in the water children Wait in the water God's gonna trouble singing one more time Say wait in the water Wait in the water children Wait in the water God's gonna trouble the water You know God's gonna trouble the water God's gonna trouble the water God's gonna trouble the water God's gonna trouble the water You know I can hear you singing from here We're gonna close out this section And we're gonna sing Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round I'm gonna keep on walking Keep on talking Marching up the freedom land Ain't gonna let politicians turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let politicians turn me round I'm gonna keep on walking Keep on talking Marching up the freedom land Ain't gonna let my silence turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let my silence turn me round I'm gonna keep on walking Keep on talking Marching up the freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round I'm gonna keep on walking Keep on talking Marching up the freedom land I'm gonna keep on walking Keep on talking Marching up the freedom land Ain't gonna keep on walking Keep on talking Marching up the freedom land Songs, the songs were the fuel But we are the hands and the feet that are gonna get this done We have such an exciting program for you tonight You know, as we go through this time We have to say to ourselves that we are the change that we need to happen And we can keep ourselves together when it's by joining in events like this This joy that I have The world didn't give it to me Oh, this joy that I have The world didn't give it to me This joy that I have The world didn't give it to me Well, the world didn't give it The world can't take it away This freedom This freedom that I have The world didn't give it to me Well, this freedom that I have The world didn't give it to me Well, this freedom that I have The world didn't give it to me Well, the world didn't give it So the world can't take it away Passion Well, this passion that I have The world didn't give it to me Well, this passion that I have, the world didn't give it to me. Well, this passion that I have, the world didn't give it to me. The world didn't give it so the world can't take it away. No, the world didn't give it so the world can't take it away. we thank you so much for joining us tonight. We've got an amazing program planned for you. And at this time, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce one of our hosts. She is a sister, she is a colleague, she is a friend. She is a former board member of the Living Legacy Project and she is one of our founders. So please open your hearts to Dr. Janice Marie Johnson. Good evening. Happy to be here and feeling the spirit move within me already. In order to make our time run smoothly, let me just offer a few tips about using Zoom webinar. You all may be perfect with it. I'm not, so let me share this. To connect with the panelists and with other attendees, please use chat. You can turn on chat by clicking the chat button on your screen. Now if you want everyone to see your comments, choose all panelists and attendees from the drop-down menu at the top of the chat panel. The chat is alive and well. Please do share resources and links related to voting rights in the chat. Know that after the program, we will assemble them and email them to each and every one of you tonight. Now if you have a question of one or both of our panelists, please click the Q&A button on your screen and enter it there. We'll be sharing your questions with the panelists toward the end of our conversation. Now I'm inviting you to set your cell phones and other electronic devices to silent mode. And now I offer our centering words authored by the Reverend Dr. Howard Thurman. Listen to the long stillness. New life is stirring. New dreams are on the wing. New hopes are being readied. Humanity is fashioning a new heart. Humanity is forging a new mind. God is at work. This is the season of promise. And now I'm honored to introduce my co-host, the Reverend Carlton Elliott Smith. Thank you so much, Janice Marie and good evening friends. As a member of the Living Legacy Project board and your co-host tonight, it's my pleasure to offer a bit of context for our gathering. The Living Legacy Project organizes and leads civil rights pilgrimages to key sites in the American civil rights movement. Some of you have been on the bus with us, so you know we provide opportunities to meet and talk with veterans of the civil rights movement, to learn from them about the courage, resilience, and commitment that the foot soldiers of the movement exhibited in the 1950s and 1960s and continue to do so to this day. The Voting Rights Act passed in 1965 has been systematically dismantled and today is only a shell of the original law. In the next six months, as we approach the 2020 presidential election, we can expect a significant increase in attempts to disenfranchise voters, especially voters of color and especially because of the extraordinary circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is up to all of us to assure that everybody who is eligible and wants to vote can cast an uncontested ballot in this election. That's why the Living Legacy Project is offering this monthly online series called Voting Rights, The Struggle Continues. We are taking this opportunity to do what we couldn't do on a regular Living Legacy pilgrimage and that is to bring veterans of the movement to each of you from the convenience of your homes all across the United States and further afield. In six parts, we'll be talking with veterans of the civil rights movement and today's activists who will offer wisdom, motivation, information, and inspiration about how we can all be part of assuring free and fair elections in 2020 and beyond. We're so glad that each of you is here for this remarkable event. Janice Marie? Okay. Now I have the honor to introduce Dr. Flaunze Brown Wright to each of you this evening. So her humble beginnings transcend all that the academy would have us believe. She grew up in a strong and loving home, strong and loving family with the fierce tenacity of a father who practiced and modeled what he preached to ensure that his children would grow up with a sense of pride, a sense of belonging, and a sense of righteous indignation. His esteemed daughter certainly does him proud. First matters. Dr. Brown Wright is the first black woman in Mississippi elected to public office. In 1968, she fought for equal voting rights as election commissioner in Canton, Mississippi, and she was inspired to join the civil rights movement after the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers. Dr. Brown Wright is certainly a horse of nature. She is one who is deeply committed to the attainment of freedom, the power of the vote, and the assurance that people of the African diaspora, we people are able to enjoy what is ours. Welcome to you Dr. Flaunze Brown Wright. Welcome. Thank you so very much. Carlton, back to you. Thank you again, Janice Marie. And Larry Rubin was a student nonviolent coordinating committee organizer in Southwest Georgia and Northern Mississippi, including my hometown of Holly Springs where I'm with you from tonight, working to support black Southerners who were risking their lives to exercise their right to vote. Larry grew up in a secular Jewish household in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father was a welder and his mother a hairdresser. Both were active in the progressive movement. His parents instilled in him the idea that the essence of being Jewish is the responsibility to fight for justice. When SNCC asked white organizers to form their own projects in white communities to fight racism, Larry started organizing poor whites, then became a union organizer and communication specialist and served four terms on the Tacoma Park, Maryland City Council. Please welcome my dear friend, Mr. Larry Rubin. Thank you very much, Carlton. I appreciate that. All right. Let the interview begin. I'll start off with you, Dr. Brown Wright. When did you first become aware of voting? The notion of voting, the essence of voting. When did you first become aware of voting injustice? It was in 1961 when I lived in Los Angeles, California, that I saw what was happening to the freedom rioters in the South. I came from a background where our parents shielded us children from the ugliness of systemic racism. So I knew very little about racism in Mississippi. That may sound strange, but I remember is that my schoolmates and I walked to school and yet our white counterparts rode to school in a big yellow bus. But I did not equate that with racism. It was in Los Angeles in 1961 when I saw the freedom rioters in Alabama being beaten in that busking burn that I knew something was not right and I called my mother and inquired what's going on and she began to tell me how she and my dad shielded us from just the ugliness of that period. And so then I returned to Mississippi in 1962 and then really began my advocacy in Biloxi. And that's where I was in Medgarabasso's assassination. Thank you so much, Dr. Brown Wright. Now, Mr. Rubin, I'm asking the same question. When did you first become aware of voting, the essence of it, and of voting injustice? Well, first of all, I want to thank everybody involved with the Living Legacy Project to give me the honor of being included in this program. I feel very humbled at the invitation. I'm especially honored to be thought of in the same breath as Dr. Wright. And I have to say that the depth of her dedication, I have become personally a beneficiary of the strength of her commitment. Because she passed it on to her daughter, Cynthia Goodlowe Palmer, and why I get to work with every day as co-officers of the SNCC Legacy Project. So I want to thank you, Ms. Wright. And I know Cynthia is there and I want to give a shout out to her. Thank you. The Living Legacy Project is wonderful because it gives people the opportunity to be able to articulate, discover, and articulate their own role in today's society. And more important to discover the role that they can play in making society better. I learned that the role that I can play in making society better, really through my DNA, I was, as Carlton said, I was born into a family in struggle. I learned very early that many of our problems, many of the barriers that we faced up there in North and Philadelphia, the barriers to building a better life were caused by the fact that the government in the fifties, forties and fifties, was being run by these racists from the south. And the reason the government was being run by these racists from the south was that their constituents, and in many cases the majority of their constituents, couldn't vote. I was brought up with that understanding from almost the day I was born. These southern racists were in office because their black constituents couldn't vote for them. And I had the knowledge that if African Americans could vote in the south, they would vote these SOBs out of office, and it would help us all. Thank you so much, Dr. Brown Wright and Larry. Now, as a follow-up question to that, we wanted to hear something about what happened when you joined the movement and how you came to be involved in the movement. What was that like for you in the beginning? And is there like even one particular anecdote that you can point to that sort of encapsulates what your involvement in the movement was like? And for that one, we'll start with you, Larry. Well, there's two ways of answering that. One, I already answered. To be a mensch, I knew I had to go sass to work. The other answer is, one day I was sitting in the cafeteria of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where I was an undergraduate student. And Chuck McDew, with that time was the chair of SNCC, was there actually visiting his girlfriend. And I went over to join them for lunch. And the next thing I knew I was being shot at, Southwest Georgia. That's the sort of ironic answer. But the real answer is I knew that I was going to go south. Chuck assigned me to work in Southwest Georgia. And it was a while for me to learn what I was doing there, what my duties were. And that's my answer to your question. I went down with this, you might say, political analysis that I spoke of before, that if blacks had the right to vote, they could, they would vote out of office, these people and it would help the entire nation, it would help me personally. But when I got there, I found that political analysis kept me awake at night. That would help the people that were really risking their lives to register to vote every day was faith. And that let them sleep at night. And I learned that the way that I could help these people of faith was basically in two ways. One, doing whatever. It's easy enough to give a political analysis even to say it's faith. But what that boiled down to me was I was assigned to help Mrs. Jones get a car, make sure that she could, I should say get a pickup in a car to make sure she could get her way to a mass meeting. I was assigned to help, you know, Farmer Smith figure out where the voter registration place was, little thing. And I was assigned to help knocking on doors, talk to people about registering to vote. And what that amounted to me was basically standing there, being silent, being white. My assignment was to show both the white community and the black community that whites could work for blacks, that whites could work to support the black movement. What my job was not, what was imposed upon us was being beaten and being arrested and going through all the things that people think of as a southern civil rights movement. That was not our job. That was the things that the race has thrown our way to stop us from working. But that's how I learned faith. I learned not to overcome my fear. I stayed afraid for five years. It's hard not in the pit of my stomach. But through faith, I learned to live with it. Larry, thank you so much for your service and your commitment. And Dr. Brown Wright, how would you respond to that question as you became more deeply involved in the movement or their particular anecdotes that come to mind that reflect the fullness of what that was like for you? Yes, thank you for that question. But before I answer, let me call just a moment to just pay tribute to all of those foot soldiers, all of those women and men and young people who were involved in the movement back in the day, as we say. Some made it and some did not. Some are still active and we're losing veterans almost monthly. So I just wanted to stop and pay tribute to the tenacity and to the steadfastness of those people who really believed in what they were doing was the right thing to do. My advocacy began in Biloxi. I was a waitress in a small restaurant. And every day these three black men would come in to this little cafe where I was a waitress. And I would hear them talking about who they got out of jail and who had been beaten and who was missing. And so I would just kind of listen because I knew very little about the civil rights movement. And so as I approached them one day to serve them, I learned that these three black well-dressed gentlemen were the only three black attorneys in Mississippi, attorney Jack Young, attorney R. Jess Brown, and attorney Carcie Hall. And so attorney Young was say about six three. And as I served him that day, he said young lady, I've not seen you at the end of our meetings. Why have you not been coming to our civil rights meeting? They were integrating the beaches in Biloxi. Well, I just didn't have a frame of reference. So what I said to him, I said, well, no, sir, I haven't been. He's what I want to see you at our freedom meeting tonight. We're sure enough I found the church, came to the meeting, and I really began to learn from them as they came into the restaurant every day during that time. And I began to work with Dr. Gilbert Mason. I began to walk the beaches to help integrate the beaches. And so that's really when my advocacy began, because I was in Biloxi caring for a civil relative. But then upon my return to my hometown of Canton, Madison County, I learned that our counting was 70% black with the potential of 10,000 individuals being registered, but only 100 were. And those were preachers and school teachers. And so when Meg was assassinated, his brother Charles, the two of them had agreed that they knew one of them was going to be killed. And they talked about that often. And they made about each other that whichever brother was killed because they were outspoken young men that the other brother would come and carry on the work of the deceased brother. So when Meg was killed on June 12, 1963, on June 13, Charles took a plane from Chicago and came to Mississippi. We became the field secretary. He appointed me as branch manager to reopen the NAACP office in Canton. The former president, Reverend L.S. Johnson, had been beaten so badly and ran out of town so the NAACP for many years had to go underground. But then when the NAACP office reopened, then that's when my training began. They sit down of Mrs. Gritchfield-Gorman to come and teach us and train us as to how to knock on doors. And so I've knocked on many doors. I've led many marches to the courthouse. I've registered people in my capacity as an election commissioner. But prior to all of that, going to the mass meetings, understanding the issues, being able to articulate the issues. And then when it came time for voting, I was told by Mrs. Anna Devine, one of the three musketeers, that she said, Flonzie, you are going to run for office because it's better to be on the inside looking out than the outside looking. And I said, Mrs. Devine, I don't know anything about the law. She said, well, the man who's in the position now doesn't know anything about the law. But what he has is power. And then I began to really internalize that concept. And I first told her, no, ma'am, I can't do that. But then finally, after she said, the community's behind you, we want you to run for this position of election commissioner. We trust you. And so on November 5, 1968, after many door knocking mass meetings, rallies, going to jail, being shot at, being tear gassed, and all that foolishness, I was successful in becoming the first African-American female to hold a public office in Mississippi, and not counting Mount Bayard in Mississippi. And I pay great tribute to them, but in a biracial town in the state. And so just learning how to articulate the issues, learning what the issues were, going through this 21-item questionnaire that blacks had to fill out by our white counterparts had to fill out a six-item questionnaire. And just kind of a little quick funny answer, but my mother was very, very light-skinned. She could really pass if she wanted to. So the day she went to register, the circuit clerk gave her the six-item questionnaire because he thought she was a white woman, not how smart was he. And so the struggle continued. And after we said that we had got enough African-Americans to register because we were 70%. And even before that time, I had the opportunity to come to Washington and testify before the subcommittee on voting at the request of the Honorable Charles Diggs. And then we asked them to send down to Mississippi registrars to help us overcome this 21-item questionnaire. Are you a communist? How many bubbles on a bar of soap? How many jelly beans in a pound of candy? How many chickens are on, how many peppers on a chicken? And things like that. So that was my task because I just simply could not just sit by. Once I understood the importance of the issues, I could not just sit by and pretend that those things were not happening. And yes, my life was in danger, but I knew that what I was doing was for the right reason. And that continues today. Dr. Brown, right. Thank you so much. And as someone who is a political candidate in Mississippi, first for the first congressional district and later for district 10 in the state Senate, thank you so much for helping pave the way for someone like me to come behind you and not have to face those same kinds of obstacles. Both you and Larry, who was also one of those way pavers for us. I'm wondering, Dr. Brown, right, if you have any questions for Larry that you might pose, a question for Larry, you might pose to him tonight as we're going deeper into this conversation. Well, we have interacted on various occasions. And I never thought that we were in this struggle in the South, that there were other races of people who really understood the plight of blacks in Mississippi. And so my head is off to Larry and to many, many, many others whose names I could call for their understanding that what they were doing, putting their lives at risk again was for the right reason. So kudos to you, Larry. Good to see you, man. Thank you so much for being that light to your people and to your generation and to your family members and friends of stepping out on faith, because that's what it took. Yes. Yes. Thank you. And Larry, do you have like a response or question for Dr. Brown, right? Well, I have a question. Let me respond just a little bit first. I discovered early on that in America, any people that truly fight for their own real self-interest, I'm not talking about people that have been fooled by Trump and to think in their self-interest is something that it's not, but any group of people that fights for their own real self-interest in America helps all Americans. And this is something that my grandparents learned in Russia when they were fighting for the rights of Jewish people who were serfs. And they learned that we couldn't do it alone, that we had to join with other people to gain our own rights. And they passed that lesson on to me. That's my great, great grandparents, through my grandparents and my parents. But I do have a question for Dr. Wright, and it's about Mississippi today. And it's two parts. What do you think, just speaking about state of Mississippi, what is the real positive legacy of the civil rights movement? And where do you think the state is today in terms of its journey toward justice? Well, certainly one of the positive things about Mississippi is that we had to face racism head-on. And consequently, after the blinders were taken off, we knew who the Kansmen were. They were the same people we did business with every day. They just didn't have the shit on it in the grocery stores and in the gas stations. But as a result of that, and I'm sure you know this Larry, that Mississippi has more African-American elected officials than any other state in the country. Because we had to face racism head-on in the boardroom, in the courtroom, in the outhouse. We had to face it head-on. And so I stand in proud as a proud recipient that I'd like to think that a lot of those persons were elected on my shoulders and on the shoulders of other people as well. That's the first question. The second question is where are we today? We're not where we need to be. I don't think any country, any state, is where it needs to be at this point in time in history. We have to realize that as I told the young lady who called me a few days ago, we had an opportunity to chat. I sort of, well now I shoot from the hip. I'm not one of those who can pretend that everything is okay. She says I shoot from the hip. I don't mean to embarrass anybody. I don't mean to hurt anybody's feelings. But in this country today, an atmosphere has been created that says it's okay to mistreat Black folks. It's okay to lock kids up in cages because we're talking about an atmosphere that has been created to say whatever you do, you can kill another young Black, a young man was killed last night. Those things are just okay. But Mississippi, it's still struggling with its place in history, but there's no place that I would rather be. I have traveled the country, I've lived in various places in the country, doing work of the government and working within my own business, but there is no place that I would rather be than to be a Mississippi with all of this inequities. There's still issues about the flag and about the this and about the that, but I'm going to continue to do what I've been doing for 57 years and that year to be on the right side of history. And I would certainly challenge my colleagues in this state to be able to make that statement candidly. Thank you so much, Dr. Brown Wright and thank you for that question, Larry, Janice Marie. All right. Well, the narrative arc has been cast. Dr. Brown Wright, you talked about 57 years. So my question is, in a Sankofa moment, what have you been doing since back in the day? What are you doing now? You kind of shared that with us, but if you could share that in another way, creating that narrative arc from back in the day to now and moving forward. Please. Thank you so much, ma'am, for the question. We are really still back in the day. A lot of people don't realize it, but we're still really back in the day. My Black History, I develop a Black History phrase every year. This year, my Black History phrase was, movements change, but commitments don't. Let me repeat that. Movements change, but commitments don't. And I have lived long enough to see and to be a part of a lot of different kinds of movements. But the question is, are we committed to total equality? And so I have spent my 57 years as a civil servant. I have taught Miami University as a scholar in residence. I have taught a certified AIDS trainer. I'm certified from the Red Cross to do drug training. And so I've spent my life in various kinds of initiatives to try and elevate and lift up mankind. And let people know that you may be so half from a drug overdose today that you are still somebody. You can still get your life together. And so I've had the opportunity that I never thought that a fourth generation slave could have to be able to lecture, to teach, to write, to spend time in jailhouses with people, to have a scholarship fund endowed by my company. I don't have fundraisers, but I've given it back about $45,000 in scholarship opportunities simply because I don't need the credit. I don't need the fame, got a pen of that. I just want to be remembered as a person who tried to make a difference in the lives of people to motivate them. And many times I tell people, if you don't think voting is important to you, do it for your ancestor. You see, your grandmama couldn't vote. Your granddad couldn't read because there were no schools in the south that would educate rural Black people, including my grandfather, who couldn't read right nor hear. So if you don't want to do it for you, do it for them. And every time there's an election, I cashed my vote in honor of my people, my family members, and my slave cultured people who could not have an opportunity. So that's what I've been doing for 57 years. And just before our country shut down, I had two or three speaking engagements and lecture opportunities. And so I don't look for jobs. People call me, and I'm grateful for that. So I'm just still on the beating path, still trying to make things better. Thank you so much, Dr. Brown. Right. Whoa. Yes, indeed. Mr. Rubin, you talked about your early, you were introduced with the early humble beginnings, your parents, you spoke about your, your grandparents on another continent. I listened to that, my ears perked up. I'm from the Caribbean, but I know well the power of colonialism. And I want to ask you the same question. From that first day in the cafeteria, from family discussions at the dining table at home, what have you been doing since back in the day? What are you doing now? What is your narrative arc today? Well, today, I'm actually working with Reverend Elliot Smith to fulfill some dreams that we have for Holly Springs and Marshall County to create at Russ College a curriculum of social justice. And in Holly Springs, a center, the Ida B Wells, you know, Ida B Wells went to Russ College and was born and raised in Holly Springs to create, that's a 26 million dollar, the Ida B Wells Center for Social Justice. And I've been leading tours of the South to, as I said, help people understand their role in society today and what their role can be in building a better society. I'm not a veteran of the civil rights movement. A veteran is somebody that's finished doing whatever it is that they've done, but I'm not done yet. I'm still working. I've been an organizer all my life, both community organizer and a union organizer. I've helped. Recently, one of the things that I'm most proud of is I helped Russ College become part of the Andrew Goodman Foundation network of it's called Vote Everywhere, so that students of Russ get a certain stipend for doing voter registration work in the community. I'm pretty proud of that. I've been working with people around the country for 20 years or so in unions to help folks gain justice, justice on the job. And I'm also along with Cynthia Goodlow, an officer of the SNCC Legacy Project. And through that, we worked with young activists, mostly black activists, mostly young people connected with organizations such as Black Lives Matter and the Dreamers and BYP 100 to pass on what little we know about organizing and helping to change society. And I have to tell you, mostly they approach us with a term that I really resent elder. Who are you calling an elder? But I guess we are, at least in age, and they say, well, what should we do? And we say, well, you tell us. What are you doing? And you tell us what you know you can do and we hereby give you permission to do it. Fabulous. We are teachers and we are learners simultaneously. I'm so inspired by your reflection, Ruben and Dr. Flaunsey Brown Wright. I'm going to turn this over to Carlton, because I looked at the chat and there are so many comments. People are burning to ask questions and to hear from you. And this is the moment. Carlton? Excellent. So let's get to those questions. Actually, for those of you who have questions, if you would like to put them in the Q&A box, if you click on the Q&A link to your right towards the bottom of the screen, that will help facilitate this process. And it looks like Larry had already been peeking in the question box because he very much touched on the first question from Barbara Dean, which is, I would love to know more about the SNCC Legacy Project. I think you got a bit into that definition. If people wanted to learn more about it, can you give us a website address? Yes, there are, well, actually, let me make a pitch for something. Okay, let's do it. Yes, I'm glad you mentioned the SNCC Legacy Project. The 60th anniversary of SNCC was April 16 of this year. And we had planned a very big convention, a multi-generational convention, not a reunion, and really not a rehashing, an nostalgic rehashing of what we did, but a multi-generational meeting to discuss organizing strategies of where do we go from here. Well, that had to be postponed because of the plague, but it's going to be held next June 3 to 5, 2021. And everybody is invited to come and to take part in our various online activities. And to find out about that, but to find out more about the SNCC Legacy Project itself, go to SNCCLegacyProject.org, and it gives you a lot of information about it, and there's a place to register for that event. You can also go to SNCCDigitalGateway.org, and that's a partnership that we have with Duke University. It gives you a lot of information about what we're up to, and a lot of information about what SNCC people are doing today. Thank you for that. Thank you for that, Larry. Dr. Brownwright, did you have anything to add with regards to that SNCC Legacy Project? Well, certainly if it's one that is needed and necessary and doing a lot of great work to keep the movement alive, if you will. And that's why I certainly commend Larry, my daughter, and other persons who are involved in it, because this is what we talk about when we talk about commitments. This is what we talk about when we talk about movement. Movements change places, but the commitment has to remain the same, because you have to know why you were involved in the first place. And so certainly I was involved with all, even though I was an NAACC organizer, we were involved with all of them. They were just labels to us. When that was a mass meeting, everybody came. You didn't have a bath. When that was something to be done, you called up the chairman of CORE and SNCCD, and they said, we need to get together and do this. And we met, and we had strategic sessions on how to accomplish what we were trying to accomplish. There were no big eyes and little use, but we did not realize that we were making history. I don't know about Larry, but I had no idea in 1962, 63, 64, that the things that we were doing in Mississippi, we were making history. I cannot tell you how many times I've been called upon by people. I don't even know, because they heard about something that happened in Mississippi after conducted international tours. Five people from Holland, six people from Afghanistan, 10 people from some place in Africa. And so it has been amazing how this movement has taken root, and people want to know they want to come to Mississippi and learn more about the movement firsthand. And so certainly it's an honor for me. I never thought, never had an idea, never dreamt that I would be one of the persons, well there aren't many of us left, but I would be one of the persons to actually try and educate from a firsthand perspective what actually happened in Mississippi and in the south back in the day. And we're so glad that you're here to tell the tale. And this next question comes from Elise Geidelman. I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly, who says, I will be retiring from 41 years of teaching next month, and hope to put a lot of my newly available energy into fighting for voting rights in any way I can. I'm looking for suggestions of particular ways to be of help either from my home in Massachusetts or by traveling elsewhere. And this coincides with an anonymous attendees question, which is what are some actionable things we can do between now and November 3rd, 2020. So let's see who would like to start on that one. Well I have actually a couple approaches to that. I think what most people, well let me put it this way, I don't believe in the concept of apathy. I don't think people are apathetic about voting. I think a lot of people don't see why they should vote. They feel well, you know, my vote doesn't count. So my first answer to that question is that to encourage people to vote, they need to understand what they're voting for. And that means organizing people along issues that are relevant to them. What's important to the community? And to organize people on those issues, and to work into that, that one of the things, one of the many things we can do to meet the things that we need to build a better life is to vote. That's just one of many things. That's my first answer. My second is that voter suppression is very real in many states. And it prevents people who really want to vote, who are convinced that their vote will make a difference, who are in the first category of people that I was talking about organizing, prevents them from voting. And for that, I would really recommend anybody get in touch with the Poor People's Campaign with Reverend Barber, with people in Mississippi, and Carl, you could probably say who in Mississippi is the best person to get in touch with. Mississippi, by the way, isn't immune so much, but that's one of the most regressive voter laws in the country, not just doing what everybody else is doing, closing voting sites and stopping girly voting. But there's a state law that in order to win for office, not only have to win the popular votes, you have to win the majority of voting districts. It means that black people have very little chance of winning any statewide office, because even if they win the popular vote, winning the majority of voting districts is a different matter. So, Carl, and I'm going to pass that question to you in terms of Mississippi. Well, it's funny you should mention that, because starting coming up our next in this series, we're going to have with us, Erika Bennett, who's Executive Director of Mississippi Votes, which is a project which is organized in recent years to help turn out more voters. And I would say that for anyone who's looking to get involved, of course, there are local chapters of the NAACP, the county chapters, I would recommend that as a good starting place, as far as finding out what's going on. So, these are some of the avenues that I would recommend that people start with. Dr. Brown, right, did you have anything to add in terms of by way of suggestions for people to become involved? Yes, I do. And thank you. Thank you again. I still believe in the committee of one theory. You see, it doesn't take a whole lot of people to get a job done when you have a commitment. And I would suggest to people, what can I do? Where do I start? Start in your neighborhood. Start in your synagogue, your church, your mosque, your boys' club, your girls' club, your fraternity, your sorority, and be sure that everybody who you network with is registered to vote. And then start on your street, starting your block, starting your own community. And this motivates people to begin to continue this movement because, again, it doesn't take hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people to begin. A committee of one is a good start because, again, if we depended and waited on everybody else to start, then who was going to start? So, but knock on your neighbor's door. And I know that in America, we become so transient. Many of us don't know our neighbors because, again, this is just where we are in our society today. But get to know the people next door to you, like I say, your church, your synagogue, your mosque, your place of worship, your building, in the bar, in the boon hall. Hey, man, are you registered? Hey, Leda, are you registered? But it's not as difficult now. You see, all they have to do now is go to the courthouse to register, hear their names and whatever information. They don't have to sit and fill out sections of the Mississippi Constitution or any state's constitution in order to be able to quote past. And so my generation tried to lay the foundation to make it easier for this generation not to be able to vote. And so when people tell me, well, I'm not going to go, I want to stay home and I want to watch it as the world turns, oh, it's turning, but it's turning without you. So even if the election is about to go, it catches, it'll catch you. We have to vote. Thank you so much for that, Dr. Brownwright. And we're coming close to our time. So this is going to be the lightning round question. It's going to be the last one. Got some wonderful questions, not a lot of time to address and get answers to all of those questions. So in just a couple of sentences, if you would, Larry and then Dr. Brownwright, could you answer for Laura S, how do you keep your motivation in the face of such adversity and hate? I believe it is not ours to ignore the work, nor is it ours to finish the work. We do what we can to push society forward. Thank you so much. For me, in 1966, during the the Meredith King march, began by Mr. Meredith, I had an opportunity to sit in a room at the feet of Dr. King along with 12 local activists from my town. He asked us to make a vow that when we saw racism, we would call it out. When we saw separatism, when we saw segregation, when we saw people being mistreated, that we would be one of the ones to call it out. And that day, June of 1966, I raised my hand. I made a vow that whatever I could do to make things better, I would do it. That's the first answer. The second answer, I'm on the right side of history. I'm on the right side of history when history is rewritten and it's going to be rewritten. My question to my lecture people, will it contain your name? What are you going to do? There's still no cure for AIDS. Do you still have homeless babies sleeping on the streets of America every night? What are you going to do now with that degree? It has your name on it, but it doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the people who you're going to be serving. And so again, I made a vow that when I saw something that I could help do, not just talk about it, but to try and do something about it, like we must do in November, let's get it done. Let's do it. Dr. Brown Wright and Mr. Larry Rubin, we thank you so much for your generosity and answering and responding to these questions. And indeed, movements change, but commitments don't. I turn it back to you, Janice Marie, indeed. All right. I'm sitting here reflecting on a phrase that I've known all my life, Jamaican one. We are small and mighty and we have that power, one person after another, knocking on doors, organizing, doing what we have to do to be strong. Yes. I want to offer a word of gratitude. Gratitude certainly for the ancestors. Gratitude for those of all ages who paved the way for us to be here this evening. And gratitude for those who continue to move mountains. Those including Mr. Rubin, Dr. Brown Wright, much gratitude. I'd also love to extend a heartfelt word of gratitude to the members of the Living Legacy Project, the board members, the founders to the first Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond, to our esteemed guests and to each and every one of you. What a blessing. This evening has been much gratitude for the generosity of spirit that is permeating this space wherever we are. I will hope to welcome you to our next session. It's scheduled for Tuesday, June 30th. Same time. Same place. Each of our sessions is takes place on the last Tuesday of the month. That might be a good reminder. Carlton will close us out and offer a benediction and that we will have music from Reggie and we will sing along. Thank you. Thank you again, Denise Murray. And as we close out, I want to leave you with these words from my colleague, the Unitarian Universalist Minister, Wayne Arneson, who's also very active in the civil rights movement. Take courage, friends. The way is often hard. The path is never clear and the stakes are very high. Take courage, for deep down there is another truth. You are not alone. We'll hear from Reggie now. Thank you. Thank you. We thank you for joining us. And the work is not over. We will not rest until the storm is over. We will not lay this burden down. We will keep each other strong. We will love and carry on till we stand all together on solid ground. Sing with me, if you will. We will not rest until the storm is over. We will not lay this burden down. We will keep each other strong. We will love and carry on till we stand all together on solid ground. We will not rest until the storm is over. Hey, we will not lay this burden down. We will keep each other strong. We will love and carry on till we stand all together on solid ground. It's been a long, hard journey on a winding road. So many have gone before us. They carried a heavy load, but they went their singing as we made their way. And now we follow in their footsteps as we work today. We will not rest until the storm is over. Hey, we will not lay this burden down. We will keep each other strong. We will love and carry on till we stand all together on solid ground. We will not rest until the storm is over. Hey, we will not lay this burden down. We will keep each other strong. We will love and carry on till we stand all together on solid ground. I know that you're weary. We all feel the pain. We're fractions of the world. We'll try our souls again, but I know there's a better day and it's coming our way. That's why we're raising our voices as we work today. We will not rest until the storm is over. Hey, we will not lay this burden down. We will keep each other strong. We will love and carry on till we stand all together on solid ground. All around us, there's hatred. All around us, there's fear. Violence touch is our lives and the message is clear. We mourn our martyrs. In our hearts, they'll stay. Then we'll sing, we shall overcome and go on our way. We will not rest until the storm is over. Hey, we will not lay this burden down. Oh, we will keep each other strong. We will love and carry on till we stand all together on solid ground. We will not rest until the storm is over. Hey, we will not lay this burden down. We will keep each other strong. We will love and carry on till we stand all together on solid ground. Till we stand all together on solid ground. Till we stand all together on solid. Thank you so much for joining us. And now, we commit ourselves to making a change, to being the change that we need to be. Thank you. Go in peace and remember, stay safe and love each other.