Freedom Riders Exhibit at Community Unitarian Universalists in Brighton

CUUB Freedom Riders Announcement                                                                       March 17, 2014

CUUB is excited to announce the arrival of the Gilder Lehrman traveling exhibit, “Freedom Riders”[i]! The Exhibit is open to the public until April 6th, 2014.  CUUB is also hosting related events such as showing films related to civil rights and issues of race in our society throughout the month and is scheduling school and other groups now.  For a schedule of public hours for visitation, visit CUUB's website, www.cuub.org, or contact us:

Terry Gannon                 248-345-1143

Carole Gannon                 248-889-5525

Charlene Huget               810-227-9206   

Robin Rogers-Reef         810-210-9026

One of our most exciting events is the performance of "Jim Scott - Pete Seeger Songfest and Remembrance." Jim Scott, a well-known composer, guitarist, singer, and activist will be appearing at CUUB in concert this Friday, March 21 at 7:30 PM.  Donations will be appreciated.

For more than three decades, Jim Scott has made it his business to create and perform music that celebrates peace, justice and the earth.  From his work with the Paul Winter Consort where he co-wrote the celebrated Missa Gaia – Earth Mass and many other pieces, Jim has gone on to create an extensive body of work, recording 7 albums of original music, and creating “The Earth and Spirit Songbook,” an anthology of 110 songs of earth and peace by many contemporary songwriters plus some of his own.

Years of activism are reflected in Jim’s work.  His songs, poetry and short stories address issues of ecology, justice and peace with insight and gentle wit.  For all his varied professional background, it is Jim’s lyrical songs that remain his greatest offering.   He transforms any size audience into an intimate gathering with a guitar skill and disarming presence that inspires and educates.

[i] “The saga of the Freedom Rides is an empowering story of courage and commitment. During the first year of John F. Kennedy’s presidency, more than four hundred Americans participated in a dangerous experiment designed to awaken the nation’s conscience. Despite two US Supreme Court decisions mandating the desegregation of interstate travel, racial integration was forbidden by law and custom in much of the Deep South. Inspired by visions of social revolution, the self-proclaimed “Freedom Riders” challenged the mores of a racially segregated society by performing a disarmingly simple act—traveling together in small interracial groups, and sitting where they pleased on buses and trains. Demanding unrestricted access to terminal restaurants and waiting rooms, they were met with bitter racism, mob violence, and imprisonment along the way. But their courage and sacrifice over eight months in 1961 changed America forever.

This exhibition was created in partnership with WGBH Boston / The American Experience, which developed a major television special of the same name to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this seminal moment in civil rights history.“