News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 18, 2024
10:00 am ET

MEDIA CONTACT

Mo Banks, Director of Communications
The Andrew Goodman Foundation
mo.banks@andrewgoodman.org
(201) 502-6144

Tim’m West, Executive Director of the LGBTQ+ Institute
National Center for Civil and Human Rights
twest@civilandhumanrights.org
(513) 226-8720 

The free event honors the legacy of Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner, while mobilizing youth voting rights advocates.

ATLANTA, GA (September 18, 2024) — The National Center for Civil and Human Rights (The Center) — in partnership with The Andrew Goodman Foundation, Antioch Baptist Church North, the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, and The Hank Stewart Foundation — is proud to announce “Legacy Lives On: Freedom Summer 60-Year Celebration.” 

This commemorative event will occur on Saturday, September 21, 2024, from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm in The Center’s main lobby at 100 Ivan Allen Blvd., NW, Atlanta, GA 30312.

“The legacy and sacrifice of the members of Freedom Summer 1964 inspired me to become a voting rights organizer. To be able to honor them is truly a great privilege, as is the ability to share our history during such a consequential election. It is essential that we do not let these stories leave our communities and that we keep the legacy alive,” said Evan Malbrough, the event’s organizer, VoteFlare Associate at the Harvard Kennedy School, and Andrew Goodman Alumnus from Georgia State University.

“This celebration of Freedom Summer underscores the urgent need for youth involvement in today’s voting rights movement,” said Rashawn Davis, Executive Director of The Andrew Goodman Foundation. “As we honor Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner’s sacrifices, we must also empower the next generation to stand at the forefront of this critical work. Together, we can build a more inclusive democracy.”

Presented by The Center’s YOU(th) Belong program, the event will honor the legacy of the Freedom Summer of 1964 and the three civil rights activists—Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner—who were tragically murdered in Mississippi during Freedom Summer.

“The Center inspires visitors and our community to become changemakers through immersive museum exhibitions, dynamic events, and educational training programs. We are honored to host this event following our LGBTQ+ Institute sponsored Freedom Summer 3.0 that engaged high school students nationally to connect 1964 advocacy in Mississippi and the South to their current interests,” said Tim’m West, Executive Director of the LGBTQ+ Institute and DEI Program Consultant at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

In honor of the 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer, the event will feature two panels and a powerful discussion between seasoned voting rights experts, activists, and youth organizers mobilizing voters ahead of the 2024 election. Speakers will include prominent figures such as Atlanta City Councilmember Michael Julian Bond. Additionally, the Atlanta Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority, Inc. will be on-site to facilitate voter registration for attendees.

“Remembering the sacred sacrifices of Freedom Summer 1964 keeps the importance of voting, civil rights, and civic engagement alive for every successive generation. This educational commemoration and those of other students of the Civil Rights Movement mobilized for freedom should be a collective rite of passage for all young Americans,” said Dr. Roslyn Harper, President of the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority, Inc. 

In addition to the program, attendees will tour The Center and have the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations and connect with local and national organizations committed to social justice, advocacy, and community empowerment. Sponsor Ben & Jerry’s will provide attendees free ice cream.

“As we commemorate the 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer, we stand at a crucial crossroads,” said Gwen Mason, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Hank Stewart Foundation. “The legacy of those brave souls who fought for voting rights lives on in each of us. To our youth who are not yet old enough to cast a ballot: Your voice matters now more than ever. Engage, educate, and encourage those around you to register and vote. Remember, the leaders elected today will shape the world you inherit tomorrow. To those eligible to vote: You carry the dreams of our youth and the hopes of our future on your shoulders. Every vote cast is a brick in the foundation of tomorrow’s society. The time to act is now. Let us honor the sacrifices of the past by securing the promise of the future. Your vote is your voice – let it resound through the halls of history.”

The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited. To register, please visit The Legacy Lives On: Freedom Summer 60-Year Celebration.

About Antioch Baptist Church North

Since 1877, the Antioch Baptist Church North has stood in Atlanta as a beacon of hope and a place of refuge. For five generations, the congregational family has reached out and nurtured thousands of persons who have been counted among the least, the last, and the lost. As a Church Family, we celebrate our 133rd Anniversary with a renewed commitment to build upon the remarkable record of charitable Christian Service that has made Antioch one of God’s best churches.

About The Atlanta Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta

Boasting nearly 600 members, the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. began as Sigma Chapter on January 1, 1924, the first chapter chartered in Atlanta and Georgia. The Chapter has led transformative public service programs and human service projects for the past 100 years—serving thousands of Atlanta residents, youth, and senior citizens. In honor of its centennial year, the Chapter awarded $100,000 in scholarships to high seniors and college students and $30,000 in grants to local community service organizations. Its trailblazing civic and political leaders include Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (Atlanta), Atlanta City Councilwoman Carolyn Long Banks, Fulton County Commissioner Nancy Boxill, Fulton County Commissioner Emma I. Darnell, Atlanta City Councilwoman Myrtle Davis, Mayor Patsy Hilliard (East Point),  NCNW Chair and corporate executive Ingrid Saunders Jones, State Rep. Sheila Jones, the first African American First Lady of Atlanta, businesswoman Burnella Jackson Ransom, and Atlanta Student Movement Foot Soldier, Filmmaker and Professor Dr. Georgianne Thomas, and former Atlanta Councilwoman Cleta Winslow.

About The Andrew Goodman Foundation

The Andrew Goodman Foundation’s mission is to make young voices and votes a powerful force in democracy by training the next generation of leaders, engaging young voters, and challenging restrictive voter suppression laws. The organization is named after Andrew Goodman, a Freedom Summer volunteer and champion of equality and voting rights who was murdered, alongside James Earl Chaney and Michael Schwerner, by the KKK in 1964 while registering Black Americans to vote in Mississippi. To learn more, visit www.andrewgoodman.org. 

About The Hank Stewart Foundation

The Stewart Foundation Youth Leadership Program focuses on project management as a tool to develop characteristics needed for structured leadership. Our program emphasizes the fundamentals of communication, organization and planning as an avenue to open the gateway to leadership. The Youth Program develops 9-16 year old males and females with the use of curricula that promotes self growth.

About the National Center for Civil and Human Rights

NCCHR is a museum and cultural organization that inspires the changemaker in each of us. Founded in 2014, NCCHR connects the US civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s to global human rights movements for people of color, women, immigrants, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, and more. Our immersive and empathy-building experiences highlight people who have worked to protect rights and model how individuals create positive change.  

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