Info about the event at Caritas today at 5:00

The SpiritHouse Project Invites You to Hear

A New Generation of Freedom Fighters

 Breaking Silence and Rising Up

When?          Friday, February 22, 2013 at 5pm

Where?         Carritas in Memphis, Tennessee

Who?         Daniels and Younge Freedom Fighters are a part of an initiative at the SpiritHouse Project, located in Atlanta, Georgia. Our work comes out of a long history of youth who fought for freedom. We especially honor the work of Jonathan Daniels and Samuel Younge, youth martyrs of the Southern Freedom movement, as well as students activists of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. Here is our organizing statement:

We see ourselves as descendants of SNCC. We follow their philosophy of movement building that recognizes the voices of grassroots communities as the heart of Movement Building and Social Justice. We are deeply nonviolent and frame our work within a nonviolent model.  As young Freedom Fighters we do not glorify ourselves as exceptional youth or leaders. Rather we understand that we come up out of the roots of communities struggling for racial justice. We are called to play a role in extending these roots in communities and not as lone individuals.

As did SNCC, we recognize that one of the major deterrents to freedom and justice is the system of White Supremacy. Our task, therefore, is to position ourselves on the frontline of a struggle for racial justice. We operate from a core value that recognizes that as young people we cannot self-proclaim ourselves as leaders in a community. Nor can we self-proclaim ourselves as leaders by virtue of our education or status. Instead, we know that communities anoint leaders based on their dedication, commitment, and loyalty to the critical needs that the community defines as essential to justice.

We thank Carritas for facilitating our visit to Memphis and for providing us with the opportunity and connections to speak about our work on the Prison Industrial Complex, White Supremacy and the Southern Strategy.  SpiritHouse Project is a national organization that uses research, education, the arts, and liberating spirituality to build up a just world.