SNCC & Grassroots Organizing, NEH Discussion Series, Birmingham

Join us in-person at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (Birmingham, AL) on Saturday, March 15 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. for the SNCC Learning Toolkit Workshop: Exploring Women & Gender in the Civil Rights Movement. This event is part of the discussion series, generously supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Understanding Women and Gender is crucial to understanding the movement and SNCC's work. While some argue that SNCC was a sexist organization that oppressed women, the women closest to SNCC emphasize that the organization gave them unusual opportunities to develop and grow. The fact that SNCC operated in a sexist society meant that sexism was inevitable. However, it was the group's openness to women, influenced by its commitment to the organizing tradition, that made it unusual and particularly significant. As current generations grapple with gender roles and leadership, there is no better organization to learn from than SNCC. Both the women and the men were on the cutting edge of challenging gender conventions and creating room for everyone's contribution.

Join SNCC veteran and film producer, Judy Richardson (most well known for her work on Eyes on the Prize), and movement historian, Emilye Crosby, for this interactive Learning Toolkit workshop. Participants will dig into documents and audiovisual materials, learn about Women & Gender in SNCC’s movement building, and collectively explore how those lessons might be relevant today. This workshop is geared toward educators, civic organizations, community or activist groups, librarians, youth—or anyone who wants to learn more.

The workshop works best with laptops or tablets, but smart phones can work.

Also, please join us in person and virtually next month on April 4 & 5 at Claflin University (Orangeburg, SC) for our discussion series on Women & Gender and Freedom Teaching! Visit the SNCC Legacy Project website for details and registration: https://sncclegacyproject.org/sncc-grassroots-organizing/

Host or Publisher NEH SNCC & Grassroots Organizing Discussion Series