Monthly Archives: July 2012

"It was a reasonable way to fight what I wanted to fight all along, but didn't know how," said Brown, now 67.

Brown and Zuchman, 70, reminisced on Saturday at a discussion and film screening about the Freedom Rides at the African American Museum in Philadelphia. The event was part of programming associated with an exhibit of 82 mixed-media portraits of Freedom Riders by New York artist Charlotta Janssen.

Four of the Riders recounted their protest experiences before an audience of 85.

In 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) challenged the segregation of transportation facilities in the South. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled the segregation illegal, but southern states continued the practice.

Thirteen protesters - black and white members of CORE and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) - boarded two buses in Washington, D.C., and traveled south.

One bus was firebombed. Riders were beaten with bats and denied treatment at hospitals. The violence ended the ride and President Kennedy sent federal officials to fly the demonstrators to New Orleans, their final destination.

News of the Riders' efforts inspired others and more Freedom Riders took up the cause. One of them was then college-student Terry Perlman Hickerson, of New York City.

"I'd seen the students on television and it just seemed like the natural thing to do. It was the sixties," said Hickerson, 70, now retired from a career working with at-risk youth and recently-released prisoners. "I went down to CORE's offices and said I wanted to be part of the Freedom Rides. They put me on a plane and I was in jail the next day."

Hickerson recruited fellow student Stuart Wechsler, who became a field officer for CORE. Between 1962 and 1968, he was arrested 30 times.

"It was the most vital and important time in my life," said Wechsler, 70, who now works in affordable housing finance with the state of Maryland.

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Freedom Rides remembered

The anger that led Lewis Zuchman and Luvaghn Brown to self-destructive moments as teenagers ultimately fueled their dedication to a movement.

Zuchman grew up white and Jewish in New York. He quit college and served time in jail before he was 19. Brown, an African American in segregated Mississippi, ran away from an abusive family life and was prone to raise his fists in an instant.

They met as teenage Freedom Riders in the early 1960s, part of a historic nonviolent movement that helped force the desegregation of transportation services in the South.

"It was a reasonable way to fight what I wanted to fight all along but didn't know how," said Brown, now 67.

Brown and Zuchman, 70, reminisced on Saturday at a discussion and film screening about the Freedom Rides at the African American Museum in Philadelphia. The event was part of programming associated with an exhibit of 82 mixed-media portraits of Freedom Riders by New York artist Charlotta Janssen.

Four of the Riders recounted their protest experiences before an audience of 85.

In 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) challenged the segregation of transportation services in the South. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled the segregation illegal, but Southern states continued the practice.

Thirteen protesters - black and white members of CORE and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) - boarded two buses in Washington and traveled south.

One bus was firebombed. Riders were beaten with bats and denied treatment at hospitals. The violence ended the ride and President John F. Kennedy sent federal officials to fly the demonstrators to New Orleans, their final destination.

News of the Riders' efforts inspired others and more Freedom Riders took up the cause. One of them was Terry Perlman Hickerson of New York City, then a college student.

Go here to read the rest:
Former Freedom Riders remember the struggles

This spring, a UCLA professor was criticized by a faculty leader for linking an online syllabus for a World Arts and Cultures course to a website that called for a boycott of Israel. At the time, professor David Delgado Shorter reportedly was told that the link for his winter term class on Tribal Worldviews seemed to advance a political agenda that was inappropriate in the classroom.

Shorter, however, said his academic freedom was being violated and he questioned whether Andrew Leuchter, the chairman of UCLAs faculty Senate, should have responded to a complaint about the link from a group that seeks to fight anti-Semitism at UC.

Shorter said that the link to the Israel boycott was just one of a number of suggested links for the class to explore the rights of various groups around the world and that he also discussed in class the point of view of people who are against the boycott.

Now, Shorter has wonvindication.

The UCLA faculty senates committee on academic freedom last week said that Shorters use of the boycott link did not violate UCLA policy, which gives faculty the right to present controversial material relevant to the course as long as no student feels pressure to adopt a point of view.

Additionally, in a letter to Shorter, the committee said it was concerned that Leuchter looked into the matter at the behest of a group that was not directly affected by the course. We think that faculty members should be free of such scrutiny and should not have to answer to interest groups outside the university, the committee told Shorter in a letter.

Shorter said Friday that he was pleased by that finding but was still filing a grievance against Leuchter in another senate committee. He said he did not know whether he would again use that link but might if it proved relevant to future courses.

Shorter was not formally disciplined in the matter. But in April,Leuchter said he had asked the department chairman to informally tell Shorter not to post the link anymore on the syllabus.

On Friday,Leuchter releaseda statement that said: As a faculty member and in my role as chair of the UCLA Academic Senate, I strongly support academic freedom. I thank the Committee on Academic Freedom for their perspective on this matter. He declined further comment.

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Link:
UCLA professor wins fight over academic freedom

July 20, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom O'Fallon,MO - The Florence Freedom shutout the River City Rascals Friday night with a 7-0 win. With the victory, the Freedom improved to 29-27 on the season and ended their five game losing streak.

The Freedom jumped out to a 2-0 lead, thanks to a pair of solo homeruns by Eddie Rodriguez and Jim Jacquot. Rodriguez hit his 7th of the year in the 2nd inning while Jacquot launched his 5th long ball of the season in the 4th. Andres Caceres improved to 5-2, as the Freedom starter went 5.1 innings, yielding only 3 hits, while walking 5 and striking out 2.

The Freedom added to their lead in the 8th inning sending eight men to the plate as Esteban Meletiche scored from 3rd on a wild pitch, Peter Fatse hit a bases clearing three run triple, and Rodriguez added a SAC Fly. Victor Gomez led the Freedom offense going 3-3 at the plate. The Freedom got 3.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen from Jose Velazquez, Brennan Flick, and Matt Kline.

The Freedom will go for the series win, as they wrap up their 9 game road Saturday night against the Rascals. Saturday's game can be heard with Steve Jarnicki starting at 7:50 pm on Real Talk 1160 and realtalk1160.com.

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Freedom Post Shutout to End Losing Streak