Hey. One more time. How does it feel . Birmingham. Oh, these foot soldiers still louder than these students. Lets one more time. Come on, birmingham. Hows feel . Oh, look, i am hype woman. Im sorry. No, im not. My name is dr. Samantha elliot briggs, and i serve as one of the Vice President s of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. And we are grateful that you are here with us today. Give yourselves a round of applause. This is a historic moment birmingham. This is the 68th anniversary of. 1963 childrens march. We are standing in one of the most important and spaces in our city now at 16th Street Baptist Church. I am so grateful that you all that your School Leaders that your families allowed you to share in this space with us today. I am so grateful that reverend price welcomed us into his home. I am so that our president and ceo, the one ill thompson allowed us to have this opportunity. And i am so grateful to the city leaders, to all the education and partners to our business and community partners. Im grateful to our team, bci. Im grateful to cspan for covering this event today. And for these foot soldiers, foot soldiers. Would you mind just standing up and being recognized right off the top. Come on, birmingham, yall. Youre going to do than that. Lets lets stand up for these foot soldiers. These people put birmingham on map without there ever. You are wouldnt be able to do what you do. Please get up on your feet for these people. These are your. With that respect being held, im going to pass the mic to my colleague here, our director of education, mr. Charles woods. The third. To get us along way. Now just have. Okay. All right. Greetings. I asked my boss just now as will pass me my so i carry my papers. He said no. So guess im freaked out. Oh i just want to say thank you to, everyone. Being here today. This is a program that i came up with six years ago to try and honor our foot soldiers, but also make the connection with our youth to our elders and our foot soldiers. Its its important that foot soldiers are here to show young people that it can be done. So okay. That they didnt do that. Yall cant do today. And i wanted to make that. We were able to bridge the gap between two generations. Thats the real important part. But if im if i can be totally candid and truthful, its you young people that are really the important people here today. Okay. So give yourselves a round of applause again. If you have not been to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. You all need to come. If a student at jefferson county, you can come free with your parents and youre adults will have to pay. So let that be a motivator for you to come and learn this history that. These great individuals participated in 60 years ago and many that are still participating. Okay. Many of our foot soldiers are still foot soldiers and still activists. And theyre out there every day. And so today i have a few things that i have to let you all know about how your day is going to proceed today. But i also had a whole lot of other stuff that i was going to say that was on that paper that my boss wont let me go grab. So whenever you. Today is a conference now program. You all will be engaged with several different individuals that will be teaching you very pertinent information. Now, one thing that everyone should have should be in your area or your zone is one of these papers right here with a qr code on it. I know at school you cant use your phones, but you can pull those phones out and scan the qr code and then put them back. Okay i dont want you engaging your phone, but dont do that now. Just make sure you find it. But dont scan that qr now because its a survey after. You you have a Previous Survey and then an after event survey. The way this is going to go is that once these individuals engage you throughout the day around 1230, were going to have a out of this building. You see in your pews. Chaperons, please designate student to hold those signs as we march when, we leave the church. We will go across the street. We will go around kelly ingram park and then into the park where lunch will be distributed for you. Okay, everybody got that . All right. Anything else in particular i need to add, dr. Briggs . Okay. I dont. My paper. Yes, maam. So one thing that i will add is qr sheets should be in the pews, not in bags. And they are shareable. They are not one per person. So once you scan the codes, pass it to your neighbor, make sure that they have scanned their codes and additional note would be take your pre survey before we get underway with the program. Thats the first one on the sheet and a third note that we need to emphasize in your there is a National Park service resource. There are pages that booklet that are related to the childrens march between and the time that were in the resource fair. If you complete those pages, you can turn it into our park service, our park ranger for junior ranger badge as well as a t shirt. So thats just to keep in mind. But you have until 2 00 to get that done. So. All right. Next up on your homework. All right. Last thing ill say that my myself and my colleagues, we have a very special job this. Job that i work every day is my dream job. Its something that ive thought about for years. And i get to teach young people every day about the history thats so to me. And so i just wanted to add that my colleague, mr. Barry mcnealy and dr. Briggs and others, we get to educate the president about the past in order to enhance the future. And thats why were here and thats what this is all about. And so thank you. Coming up next, we have mr. Nicks. He is author of you have to be prepared to die before you can begin to live. Wait. Im sorry. Im great. Im jumping in the program. Im sorry. Next we have bring in welcomes the passage this Church Reverend altar price. Thank you. Good morning. Good morning. I want to welcome you to the 16th Street Baptist Church here at 16th Street Baptist Church. Jesus christ is the main attraction. 60 years ago, the attraction of this church was the stomp out injustice, inequity and any equality. Dr. Shuttlesworth asked dr. King to come to birmingham. They had some lunch counter sit ins that get a whole lot of fanfare. But on good friday, dr. King was arrested. He penned this letter from the birmingham jail. But while dr. King was in jail, his lieutenants had the bright idea to get the children involved in the movement. And these future soldiers were your at that time. And they got involved in the movement and they packed this church way. The church is packed right now. And when dr. Taught them how to protest nonviolently, dr. King had two overall objectives. One was to fill up the jails in birmingham. So kids like you walked out of these doors, 50 at a time and they were met by billy clubs, they were met by fire hoses. They were by police dogs, and they were taken to jail and they were ready to go to jail. And the second objective of dr. King was to make sure that this event in birmingham got on this very new called television, because in 1963, there was no facebook, no snapchat, no. So they made sure they it on television, got the attention of the president emboldened to tell his brother they broke a deal and that the king was emboldened. Do the march on washington. We here today because in 1963 those efforts soldiers taught us some lessons. And 1963, they touched some lives. And 1963, they transformed this land. And if they could do it, you can do it, too. So welcome. Six the history. How are we going to come up here today . Morning, everyone. My name is paul kicks. Im the author. You have to be prepared to die before you can begin to live ten weeks in birmingham. That changed america. I am white. My wife is black. I come from rural. My wife comes from houston. Why am i here today to talk with you about what happened, 60 years ago this week . Its very simple. Everything changed in america because of the spring. Of 1963. That was a message that i first my wife and i first tried to relay to our kids. And maybe the best way for you all to understand why i wanted to tell this story, why im here. Lets go back to another image. In june of 2020, george floyd being by officer derek chauvin. As i said, my wife, son issues from inner city houston. She grew up one neighborhood over from george. George up in third ward. Sanneh grew up in fifth ward. George sonja were the same age 46. Sonia had friends, relatives. Dear, dear cousins who went to yates high, georges high school. Sonias cousin. Derek knew george back then, knew him as the tight end on state championship plane Football Team at yates high. We have three kids at the time, twin boys were nine. Our was 11 years old and tell you all of this because george murder felt personal to us because of sonyas connection to houston, to that neighborhood. And as a result of that georges murder was the first time that we as parents did not shield our kids from black men and black women who are being killed by Law Enforcement officers whose deaths were captured by body cam footage or cell phones. Georges murder was the first time that we all sat on cnn and we watched him die. Our kids had a lot of questions about that. Our twin boys in particular were nine again at the time. The questions very quickly from are all cops racist. Kind of took a step down to selfhatred. Why did that happen to him . Well, Something Like that happened to me. Am i inferior to sonia . And i did our best to try to stem that. We love you. You can do whatever you in this life. But it didnt really. The latter half of 2020 was a very difficult time for our family, as it was for many people in america. I dont think that our lives are perhaps all that different from yours. Later that summer, when jacob blake, away from kenosha, wisconsin, cops and those cops shot him the back seven times while his three kids scream from his car. Our twin boys, that coverage, too. And what they said was, why do they keep trying to kill us . And they ran away from the room in tears. They became so despondent. In the latter half of 2020. We wanted to try to find a way to boogey them. We wanted to try to find a story that would tell them about faith and resilience and courage. Now again, i am a white man. I grew up on a farm in rural iowa after. The twins were born in particular. I started read a lot of the black canon. I started to read a lot of the Civil Rights Movement. And if you Flash Forward now to 2020 when the boys are nine, i had a sense for one story that i thought was the most amazing story in the whole of america, because from 1863 until nine 1863, nothing, nothing changed. I shouldnt say that. Of course. Let me start again. Of course. Emancipation. But by way of civil rights, by way of civil, nothing improved. If you if you if you kids particular get a chance to spend some time at the bukhari or spend some time at the Public Library and research what happened here in birmingham at the turn of the 20th century into the time that people the reverend fred shuttlesworth, were trying to lead the fight for civil rights. They will those documents will tell you. It was second class citizenship at best. Very little had changed. So to go back 63 to 1963, no real fight. No, no, no real fight, whatever could ever really capture the attention of the nation and change america from. 1963, everything. And the story that i wanted to tell my kids was the story that i want to tell you briefly here today. Everything changes because of ten weeks in birmingham and everything because of the people who are here today. Everything changes in measure because of what happened in early may. You can say that these ten weeks of this of the Birmingham Campaign are the most critical weeks in the whole of the 20th century. I firmly believe that. I think you can go even more specific. The first week of may is the week that all of america changes forever. It takes a long time it takes a. It took a long time. But after that, the kennedy brothers sponsor civil rights legislation in june of 1963, that sponsorship becomes a Civil Rights Act of 1964. That leads to the Voting Rights act of 1965. That leads to kings death in 1968 and a new life for his country. Not only the ability for a truly choose me, for church, for Shirley Chisholm to run for president , not only the rise, the black, middle and upper class, not only the presidency of barack obama, but the ability for me as a white man to marry the woman i love in a former jim crow state like texas and to raise our kids on a shaded street where nobody harasses us for who we are. Birmingham changes everything, and the first week in may is where everythings starts. This is hallowed, hallowed ground. I, i know where. Theres just a few other things i want to share because weve all seen the footage of birmingham and you have seen that those grainy images, what these foot foot soldiers did. But i want to try to contextualize this just for a minute if i can, especially for the kids here today, because this a discussion that ive now had with my own teenage children about what these people did when they were your age. Lets actually start with the fire hoses. You see those images of those kids and you think that that must have hurt those fire hoses. And these these people can tell you this. They were mounted on massive metal tripods as if it were artillery, as the force of a cannon was going to rush out. And it was manned by one firefighter or two. Firefighter. If you go back and look at the images, the raw footage, those fire hoses were manned by cops. Excuse me, three cops or four, three or four cops or three firefighters or four or four for firefighters. Excuse me the power that came out of those fire of that water water. It was enough to brick loose from mortar. It enough to the bark from a tree at, a distance of more than 100 feet. And let me tell you about this. These people here today and people who are in the footage that day, what the what that grainy images wont tell you. These people are hit at a distance of less, 50 feet, less than 50 feet. There are people who talked about when they went out in the line, they could hear the water across other people and then it would hit them and it would hit their hairline and it would rip the hair straight from the roots. Effectively, scalp them right outside. 60 years ago, the raw footage would show when the water hit them, kids would just sort of back flip in air and land flat on theirt rt of back flip in air and land flat on their stomach. The water hoses would disintegrate, the clothes off of children. There was one girl who cartwheeled end, end, over, end, because thats what the water kept doing to her. One of the most painful things that i saw from the raw footage was a girl about 14 or 15 years old. The clothes around her. The firefighters. Three, three firefighters focusing the hose on her. Shes maybe ten feet away. And they have the cruelty to keep it her and move her. They effectively slide her down the street, 50, 60, 70 feet. And shes just screaming pain and agony. Then there are the dogs. Lets talk for just a second about the dogs, because you see images out there of what that was. The Birmingham Police department had one black German Shepherd whose name was the nword. And these people, some of some of the people who talked in the oral project, theyll tell you that that was vicious. He was he he would he would grab somebody by the neck and thrash back and forth. People were feasted on by these dogs. It was horrendous. There were World War Two era reporters and photographers, the National Media here. And these people said, they had not seen anything like birmingham, alabama, even in war. Zones 60 years ago, right up the street and kelly ingram park. Thats where that happened. So why now . Do you understand what that was actually like . Heres what happened as a result . These brave people had the courage that you all have. Its within all of us. We can channel it. We can be as brave as. As everyone in front. In the front row here was. Because what they fought for that day was a chance so that all of could see what most hateful, racist place in america could do and that hateful racist place represented in some measure racism throughout all of america. And the foot soldiers here today. They what they did so that america could change. One of the most remarkable things, if i could just say. I just want to say in closing that reading through the oral histories spent a tremendous amount of time of the past couple of years, reading through all the oral histories of so many of you. And one consistent message is that they you all, as teenagers, wanted to change, not only your life would be better. But so the lives of everyone else would be better. And i am here today as proof of what you all did. So thank you all. Thank you. Thank you all. And. All right. Thank you so much, mr. Nicks. Now were going to have greetings. First, well have ms. Paulette roby executive, director of the Civil Rights Activist committee, directly following her will be counsel in j t moore and then directly following him will be the president and ceo of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. President , do want to al thompson it. Thank you. Good morning and welcome. As we gather today to commemorate 60 years of the childrens march on these very steps in may of 1963, more than thousand africanamerican students left this church to march downtown birmingham, and hundreds were arrested. These children was margin for the right to live in a desegregated where they did not have fear. Being blessed by fowls and attacked by Police Officers and dogs. These brave foot soldiers heard the clarion call of reverend fred shuttlesworth. Dr. Martin luther king and s. C. Elsie organizer james bevel. They will margin in singing aint going to let nobody turn me around. So again, i say welcome to the day of memories paying homage and, cameras, commemorations to all participants. The childrens march of 1963. And thats we are here today so that we will always remember the childrens in this city and never, ever forget it. Were glad youre here. Sit back. Enjoy the program. Other related festivities. Welcome. Good morning. How yall doing . Oh, man, i got to give me more energy than that. Good morning. How ya doin . Okay. Okay. All right. I it. So this morning, as i prepared for this. This, i was reminded a sunday school classic. This little light of mine. Im going to let it shine. Now, im not going to sing for yall because i dont want to get put out of here. I want that to put me out of. But but now that im an adult, i realize that it really was just a call to action that. That song was for. For us. Know that everywhere we go, we should let light shine. Even in democracys darkest hour, we should let our light shine right. But you may be asking, well, what does that mean . How do i do that . Well, im glad you asked. Im glad you asked. That means that you should have courage to do the that god has placed in your heart, to do and have the courage to do good that god has placed in your heart to do. Letting your lights out is always going to be connected to serving others, to serving people who. Is your heart. Go out to who do you have compassion for . Who who struggles pull on your heart strings. Im pretty sure you have some folks that you can identify. As i say, those things. Those are the ones that you should speak up for. Those are the ones that you should fight. In moments where we have disenfranchisement and people who are oppressing in a belittling. Those are the times that you raise up and that you challenge the status. All right. And so because thats what the sons and daughters of the city did in 1963, thats what i teach my daughters to do every day. And thats what this office, district four office, is committed to making. Sure that we encourage young people in our city to do through Youth Council that were going to start in 1963. They let their lifestyle and through their songs, their sacrifice and their steadfastness and we all share a responsibility to do the same thing in some way. Through the Youth Council. Were working ensure that Birmingham High School students are civically engaged opposed. A deep understanding of how their collective power can transform and the world. Just like the first soldiers did in 1963. Listen i want you all to know your voices. Power and you can make a difference right . Yeah. Right now, in this moment. Now. Right now theres a young, young, young, dynamic gentleman by the name of ethan. Hell who started up a Nonprofit Organization because he felt the need to those who are dealing with homelessness and to feed them. He did at the age of six, at the age six. I say that because i want you to know that you are never too young to make a difference. Youre never too young to have an impact. And these footsoldiers are evidence of that today. This, i believe, was created for no other reason than to keep us in remembrance of the work and the sacrifice that made for us, but also to inspire each and every one of you that you can do. The same thing right now, today. So in closing ill just say this. So the foot soldiers, thank you all so much for work, for your service. Thank. Thank you. Thank you. And so the young people here today, you are not. Up next. You are now. So let the light shine. Thank you. Good morning. And so heard a lot already. Right. And you have to forgive. My name is dejuana thompson. Im the president , ceo of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Im honored to be here to the past of this church, to the leaders, to all of our city members. So all of our foot soldiers. And to you, i have to be myself today, because there is absolutely no way on the 60th anniversary of the childrens in this sacred space cost six Street Baptist Church. Cant we be anything than extraordinary . We have got to remind ourselves that we are all part of an incredible legacy, of an incredible tradition. People who said enough is enough. We cant come here the same way that we would normally come to church. Now, my dad is a pastor. I had to go to Church Every Day of my life up until about 20. Okay. So love church actually. But we are just today we are in sacred space. And so what do you do when you come sacred space . You might ask. First of all, you acknowledge spirit. There is a spirit about the work about, the movement. It is a spirit compels us to continue to do this work. So we have to invite and welcome and acknowledge spirit. And let me tell the spirit is here, because the spirit is in you when you are here. So lets first acknowledged the spirit. Clap for the spirit. Thats the room today. What do we then . Do now that weve acknowledged spirit. Lets go back to what the tradition told us to do when you came in this space. You can imagine there is all kind of things happening. Homes are being bombed. Businesses are being attacked. Bodies are being attacked. And coming into a space. Trying to get strategy. Youre trying to get. On one accord. Youre trying to understand what to do next. Spirits all over the place. People are concerned. People are afraid. What do the elders tell us to do that time . They say, lets sing together. Lets activate together. So today i want you to start with me. Im going to go. Im just going to do a small chant and were to do it together because we got to be in the same spirit and were just going to simply say the People United to can never be defeated. The People United can be defeated. Stand up and say it with me. The people unite. It can never be defeated. The people uniting can never defeated. The People United can never be defeated. Hands up. The united can never be defeated. Last time the People United can never be defeated. Let me hear you make some noise up here. Thats. Thats that is the legacy that you have that you can go in any room and set the atmosphere that you can go in any room and changed the dynamic you are the change youve been waiting for. They told us that they showed us that they did. Then how dare we come in here and not think we are anything less than extraordinary. So welcome. Today because we have a rich history. Yeah, we have a huge responsibility. My elders told me that each generation is responsible for the next. We lost one of my personal elders, parabellum one time who told . Me, when i was 21 years old. That the agenda was to get an agenda. Our elders and our soldiers. They had an agenda and they did what they had to do. Whats your agenda . My young folk. Whats your agenda . Its not job to tell you what to do. It is our job to remind you that you have a responsibility so. So i look forward to working with you. Thank you so much to our team, the Civil Rights Institute. Im so proud of them. Thank you to all of our partners. And thank you for what were going to do together today. Hey, man. Hey, man. Thank. All right. Give our president another round of applause, please. All right. So right now, were. Were going to have were going to have a panel discussion. Some local students in, teachers. And so when i call your please come up here and have a seat. First, were going to start off with mr. Barry mcneely. Barry mcnealy is our historical content expert. Hes also a Parker High School legend. All right. Next, were going to have Bishop Calvin woods retired clergy, retired guidance counselor. Retired bishop, and also. All right. Make sure he gets up here safely. Next, were going to have where reverend gwendolyn where she was student leader during 1963 childrens crusade crusade. And shes also the founder of footsoldiers international. We will also have tasha brownlee. Professional student counselor Carver High School. Thank you all. And lastly, going to have mr. Deon arnold. Hes student and community activist, also a member of the birmingham civil rights legacy Youth Leadership program. Thank you all so much. Make sure you turn your mics on and barry and well leave it to you. To. Good morning. Before we begin, lets i want to go back to something that mr. Kix saying earlier, and i want to not what he said and dont want to repeat what reverend price said and both of them spoke very historically and detailed what took place in birmingham. They detail took place in birmingham with a dedicated group of people by but it should not be lost upon. Anybody sitting in this room right now that what those young people faced, what adults faced. In 1963, had they not succeeded, it would have been just another thing that happened in birmingham. Eugene theophilus conner was in power in this city. From 1937 to 1963. There were people that spoke up. There were people that protested. We got the homes bombed. We lost a lot lives in the first two months of 1946. There. Six uniform, armed africanamerican veterans that came back from World War Two, charged up with the v campaign. You see africanamericans, servicemen and women couldnt settle for one victory. They had to have two. Not only were they taking on hitler and nazism, they were taking on crow and racism. When they stood in the of birmingham to encourage people, to register to vote and overcome segregation. Six of them were exact looted in birmingham, alabama, in the streets by the Birmingham Police department. If those young people could not have withstood the with the ring assault that was brought to bear upon them. It would have just did another thing that happened in for decades. So when we hear they endured lets not miss the fact. That the machinery was ready to move on they broke that machinery. They that process. And thats why they are heroes. This morning as the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute has done for years now with the cooperation our partners here in the birmingham, Civil Rights National monument, we look back as we look ahead, we want to bring together that generation with this generation. And as we move forward and join on this stage right now, by a student and an educator. From 1963. Im also joined on this stage by a student and educator from. 2023. And im sitting in the middle not because the most important, but im sitting in the middle because im attempting bridge the gap. Yeah. And so i start out by simply asking each one of you to speak to the importance of being here in this moment and booth, well start with you. Hey, man, giving obedience is this all. Giving to the presence of the holy spirit of god . Pastor price and dr. Price, god made you look like a boy, but i know you dropped the price. Amy, whatever god does he does for a reason. And so to the present, the Civil Rights Institute and our call it. Dr. Thompson. No, when she was a girl, she started when she was a girl and had so much ability. She worked at the city hall. She went washington, d. C. , and worked with the national has worked all over this country. And we had our eyes on her ever since she was little girl and god brought a back put her in this position. And i want to say to of you delighted to be here, mr. Mcneely. Glad to see you are taught you had parker and dont get mad. I hope youre behind a few times times not because he was bad was one of the better students to go through Parker High School. He stayed late nearly morning and id whip him to try to keep him sending him home and went on at his mama got him a call to keep being late he got worse with that car he has spirit of altruism, the love for god and a love for man. And hed be late then picking up other folk, trying to get them to school on time. Im glad that god has spared of us to be here. Happened to be so. See these put. I remember when they were young. I think im probably old enough for some of their fathers, but many of them made dynamic contributions. I could call many names. No, practically everybody standing here. So they are not lying. They are not just here. And what their lives. So you can hear them witness what happened. They are the witnesses. They are the witnesses to stood up and went through what that man they went through what our president said. They went through they went through that action. Many of them got beaten. Many of them got put in jail, but they didnt let any brother say, i wont sing aint gonna let nobody turn me around. They prayed the price because they were chosen by im not going to talk too long. But it was no me down. Now. You know when you get old you can get by with some stuff. So let me talk it here in birmingham because the people, the foot soldiers and others whove gone on that the civil rights bill was born in this nation, that brother talked talked about it. The civil rights came out of birmingham right here. The public accommodation bill put this nation came out of birmingham right here, talked about laws changed with the preacher now born. We help any body in hall county courthouse. It came out of birmingham. They in order to walk with them god let god to poke and see you and god aint through with you. He said, be faithful on the dead. Keep not only that not, only that you all know about this sermon. Montgomery march. Now we bring it here. Yes. Well, but disgustingly over that. No you get that the only so ham got used birmingham. And those are closed ill tell some god has a purpose for the foot soldiers purpose for everybody. Not only it it has a purpose. They got to plan young for god, a prayer. He said. Look, giles, you lead except you converted and become as a little child. You shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Not only they a purpose. He got a plan he got a pace. You you may not all move at same pace. Yes, sir, but he got a page for you. Yes, sir. Not only is it got a pace, i want you, young pope. Remember this. He got a person for you. These puts you listening to how they compared you, what theyve been through and how god used them. God a person i dont care who. You are what position out god had somebody a person in your life did are you might not know it but you have make it by yourself that was a person who cared you brought a weapon opened doors for you you dont know nothing about yes, sir. And what the greatest thing that helped these foot soldiers. They know im not like and you know it to us to move forward in face of tyranny talking about terrorist birmingham was in it with terrorists more bombings took place here than any place in the world. It was called a jihad as bird of the south. Many people died years ago. They looked down the boat and already over 90 bombers had been solved in this city. Oh, god. Stepped in. Got be. Yes. And what i can say now because of how. Wow people got stood up, you know, im getting old, man. Ill be able to say it is no more. But i just want to tell these young folk the credit, even though we a lot of book on the Police Commission and why do boat everybody didnt along with them we a few whites working with us from the inception of the Christian Movement here in birmingham. And i want to just tell to and im opposed to the three names and i wouldnt embarrass some people one name due to hang choose a white woman who up very courageous and very young not only due to hang but diane who became a book writer, wrote care in the home, all of that i could name some other people that reverend jim was another name, a white preacher who was here working with us. Working with us. They stood up so courageously he had to get out of town they dont kill him. But working go kill the police. A charge. They were looking for him. No, no. What we do. It did. We had to put him in a casket. Put him in a casket put it in my hand, my. We had to sleep in out of town. And he stayed gone until three or four years ago. He came back, but god called home. Our movement was a Christian Movement. Yeah. Dr. Fred shuttlesworth got used him. I want to say this right now. Yall see where civil is to rear cross street over there. Thats where he help. Yes. First on the days to meet it, it was 80. Gaston tune been his office it was a two story white Funeral Home Office up and and so in George Little did he know little did we know that the center of attraction would right down now that Civil Rights Movement god chose that place. May god bless you. These are not ordinary. You are still not knock off. Speak in ordinary here at time. You still got job to do young people and wake finished your work until god get through. We got to continue to stand up against injustice. After dr. King said it until every remnant of disenfranchisement of intimidation not be eradicated from the page to the and when the power the open wide young pope god got a job you up and what happened open why they thought so yes dr. Dr. Shorter were order those who labor they helped to make birmingham that brother sir but man make their whole work out of whole new and they had the foot soldier go step inside god knows they wound up well god up oh. Yeah. Oh oh. We that that. Yeah yeah you got to you, got to follow that. How do you feel being here given that torch. That was my teacher in guidance now youre a teacher and guidance counselor. How do you feel . Good morning. Okay, let me let me just say this to the young people in the room, because thats where im in my element, talking to, if i can be sitting here and i am so honored to be here, by the way, as an educator, Birmingham City schools, i as a history teacher next, this historian of the city, birmingham is the Barry Mcnealy. And even in 2004 eight spark a high school. Knowing that this gentleman and he is not ordinary be my coworker in department you can imagine how i feel right . But he embraced me a mentor and he me through that entire time as a history teacher from Parker High School, i to we now in a high school i was for seven years after completing seven years aa as Parker High School. Yeah i thank you thank you and see some of my fellow in the room who were my support systems while we not a high school ms. Black mr. Jackson if you and i will say at Parker High School as a history teacher i know this my thing. Let mr. Bennett Barry Mcnealy is doing but i did my best as a history teacher and thorpe and said just use that classroom as mouthpiece to our young people. So i decided during that time to do what i was comfortable with going and meeting people. And at that time i, ms. Gray and president thompson, who im sure she did not know she would be president in 2023 at this very moment. She was working with you, sir, and she came into my class room and she poured my students. And i welcome her and mr. Barry mcnealy approved of it and allowed to happen. And im, you know, just just getting into my education and then and we not a high School Continuing to do what i do because knew i will go into counseling did not know i was a history teacher but being comfortable i continue to do me tasha so during that time i met councilman moore mr. Jonathan has always been a hero for the a. G. Gaston boys and girls club. So i honestly today this is a full circle moment for myself. Bishop woods is my family. The Covington Family pastor, and he has been there past the four years his brother abraham would was my instructor at, morehouse college, my alma motto at carver school. I have my champion. I am currently there and im in my fifth year Carver High School now, so im already 19 years in Birmingham City school. Our school, young people is what i know. I have my champions there. I have ms. Bloomfield. She been here. I, ms. Wood shes there. And by the way, mrs. Wallace is the districts teacher of the year. So. So this moment, honestly, for me, is a it is a full circle moment. Councilman moore told me, let my light shine. I got a little light this is my time to shine. I was told that i have a plan, had a plan for me. I was tasha from while im Community Based middle school is my high school miles college. I am ordinary i am so nervous sitting here in front of but in my element i pour into children i deal with children. Now the main difference i think in our profession right now is the word guidance. We no longer use that word guidance. We are school counselors. We focus the holistic approach to and educating the student. We focus on the trauma and different social emotional issues. Our students deal with every day and. Thats where im in my element. Almost every situation. And ive dealt with it today with our young people has been posttraumatic from coping. When we came back into a full school year trying to get to normal after covid when schools were shut down, we walked into a world weighing in for counselors of suicide or to suicidal ideation, not to mention the enormous loss of our children in community and the that has taken on the young people right here in this room. So the although im out of the classroom and i moved on to allow other beautiful teachers to take the charge, we have excellent teachers. We have ms. Steel here from Carver High School. We have ms. Atkins i think i saw ms. Crawford. We have teachers in our schools who allow counselors to be great at what they do. If it were not for your child. These two are very important to the teachers. The end. We as counselors would never what it is. I want to say this quickly that as a school counselor, our the main thing that hear currently now from my from our children and their issues that they face is dealing with social media is dealing with self care and self love and all of these pressures they feel like they feel not they feel like they feel that they feel excuse me and is also dealing with us. We dont listen. And i and listen. I said, i may find another seat. A young man he might give me. I dont even know this young man. But i had. He sent me there for a reason while waiting for this. The star, the young man with into his. He said to his friend, hes going on and on. Hes hes frustrated. His friend to him, your mom is just being a good mom. But the young man is saying to him, she wont listen me. We have to listen to our young people. We to stop talking. And i know as a mother myself that were trying to connect, but sometimes we just to stop and listen. So thats my word, darren. My my light that want to share. We have to listen and we have to create relationships with our children, not friends. You because there should be a separation. My child cant talk to me. We are friends. We need to create. Create relationship with our children. And then on daddy and i do a wonderful job. Our beautiful teachers can pour into and a whole birmingham thrive. Thank you. Tasha. Thank you so much for acknowledging the that you have worked with. I want to take a moment of privilege and ask all of the educator ers to please stand up. You are necessary. You are essential, and you are loved. Thank you. Now we start it to my right with educators. From 2023 and 1963. Now going to go to my left and were going to go in the same order. Were going to speak to a student from 1963. And then we will speak to a student from 2023. Reverend, were were. Let me say is still morning is good morning. Ill come out look, im just a good old baptist preacher, so you can do better than that. Come on. Good morning. Good morning. First given honor and glory to god who my life. Who is my life to this dynamic pass, to this great pastor of this great church pastor. To this of the preachers and pastors thats at that. Would you just take a moment and stand please. Come on. I dont know how the preachers pastors abandoned all love you just stand if you would please and lets acknowledge all of them please. Now all love the footsoldiers footsoldiers. Why dont you all stand again . Please so all of the footsoldiers. Okay, now who were really. You may be seated. To our love you. When i looked around and here in 16th Street Baptist Church and as one thing that is all all about now to all you young people, i want of you to quietly just stand up, take your rightful place, stand on up. Come on, come on, stand. Stand up, stand up. Youre not the of tomorrow. Youre the leaders of today. Youre the leaders of today you may be seated. And you know, every time i look around i have not traveling and teaching march and in fighting for for all of you of us and as one song that comes to me real and im going to stand up speak up shut and sit down but i want you to chime in with me. You dont know. I just follow. We aint go let nobody now know. Some of the educators may look around and say, oh thats not correct. English. It brought us all the way. We aint go no bad in young folks. I expect you to join in, in and just care all now we aint go let nobody no, no no, no we go let no bad see we. We gonna copy martin up the freedom we aint go let no buddy no no, no, no we aint go let nobody we gonna we gonna. Marching up the freedom we aint going that no god loves no no, no, no we aint there no god but lets we gonna we gonna. March have the freedom the hell yall out out. Look to my daughter right here this this is one of my babies right here when she was a little baby now shes a little baby, but shes a grand leader. Give me the one. A townson a great big hand. And i quickly then to my councilman, my district, i got to Say Something about him because. Im going to get on him when we get out of here. So im going to jonathan or jonathan, wave your hand. Councilman moore, young man thats on a mission. And we have another councilman here. You know, you you see councilman, old queen, jersey, everybody almost. And we like to acknowledge him. Hes just hes brother. Hes my brother of a different mother. Him a hand. Now to what im going to say and all of this platform here. All this platform here you know bear it all you know like for you to talk about him but. This is a great young man, great leader, great great educator and theres one of my babies here. He just being up here, having himself a good time. Let me say this to you. If you dont know it, it would. Youve been told your own hollow ground. And for this man of god, evidently he stepped out to allow us. Let me tell you, im a pastor to allow us to grace his pulpit. The pulpit. I want you to just him again with a great big round of applause. And i thank you. Once again. Were thankful for he brought me all the way from. 1963 as my councilman and councilman oquinn. They think they slick say how were you away doing as i do the mayor just do the math you just ran to find out how i am regardless im still going yeah here now were thankful to all of and i said i was go stand up. We captured him sit down. Im sitting down. Thank you you. Deon. I bet you thought wed get to you and how do you feel to be in this moment . But even more you were recognized just recently in the birmingham times and al. Com for the work youre doing. Can you speak to what has inspired to do that and how it feels to here amongst people who made change in our community. Now before i say or expand on anything, want everybody in here to give this panel another round of applause. The reason i say that is because, mr. Mcneely i know that he never gave it to me. I know he wants me to follow up on what theyre doing and what theyre saying. But i wanted to kind of that one thing that ill say i represent is my organization thats one of the main things that youve. Got to think but this is one of the main things that i represent. And this organization is called solutions solutions. Solutions is a youth led nonviolence organization. That was started in december 2018. It was started with the purpose of helping children, teens and young adults learn how to resolve conflict by managing their emotions and their own method of self discipline. Right now, over the years, weve been strides making, strides within our community, within the greater birmingham area, and trying to get a lot more youth within our city to come out, express themselves and be a part of the actual community. But that was slowed back over by 2020 as flawed a lot of our momentum now and is just now recently that were getting back and getting that movement started, getting back on track. And so i wanted to say one of my many inspirations, the creation of this organization is my mother. Um, i know many of you have read article already, but for those who have not this organization was started because of the passing of late mother and january of 2018. My mother passed and kind of set the wheels in motion to what will be the creation of solutions after her passing. Ill say not only was i feel with the emotions and grief that would come from it, i also knew i had new calling to come to, as i would say, as i got i thought to myself, i never really knew what i was going to do after college. I havent thought about back then. I never really thought it never really paid attention to it. So after her passing it of hit me, it was a shock more like me really coming into the present moment. Once that happened it hit me that i didnt have any type of a plan i didnt know i was going to do, didnt know if i was going to make it, if i was not to be who i wanted to be, if i was going to become what i wanted to become and all that dear was is motivating me to do and try to be more kind to be the best that could be. And as i look today and the foot soldiers that are sitting front of me and as look back then and i see all the churches the civil rights to all these organizations that took place one time and had moment that all came to make not only me, but everybody else in here. I now realize there those pivotal moments what they represent something great to this city and. Its a mark and something that we should all take with this even after this event is over because if you dont know what youre going to do, even if you have no basis what youre going to do, it will come a time when youre going to have to have that and, who better to have a good mark, what youre going to do and how youre going to accomplish it when you see all these problems going on, when you see the problem of gun, police brutality, racism, all these issues. So. For about 50 years ago had to deal with that. Still exist to this. You can be who you want to be. Oh, say that you can always be who you want to be, but to the best that you can be, you always have to devote yourself to making good of a change whether that be your community, whether that be a city, whether it be a nation you want to how your business has good when to have what you want to have. Thats great. But you always want to look out for those who are less those who do not have the same resources. You had, those who are not as lucky, and those. Who have fought for you in the past. Yes. Even without you knowing it and so i wanted to say that because of all of that coalescing coalescing, thats why i found founded this organization. Once i realize at that moment i had to make something, i had to do something and if it was no other moment, then that no i knew the work that had to be done, that had to be put in on. The thing for me then was to do so. Ever since then ive been devoting myself. Ive been trying my hardest and its been paying off. Thank you, dear. Now, i dont know for how long. No, i dont know. Have for how long. So ill make it count for however long its going to. But. But i want to end it off by saying no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, there are always going to be those who are lucky than you are, who more fortunate than you are, who have a whole lot more. But then if you get up to the same platform, if you have your opportunity, you need to go out and take it you need to go out and use it best way you know how to because you dont somebody else is going to come and get it somebody else will come and it or youre going to lose it and you may never have that same opportunity again. I and then once you reach top, once you become the one that everyone sees and when it whats going to be the other persons excuse, they had all the resources they had they were going to do they had everything at their disposal but you didnt and yet you reached it yet you went to the top. So now what they get to see. Thank you, dear. 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