Keep That Fire Burning: Freedom Rides, Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action

We've come a long way since the days when the first students courageously integrated America's public schools after Brown v. Board of Education struck down "separate but equal."  Still, as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Rides, the abhorrent state of our public schools denies our youth their most basic civil right - access to quality education.



Freedom Riders for Justice in Education at the National
Civil Rights Museum in Montgomery, AL

 Recently, New Orleans Liberation Academy students and teachers participated in the Freedom Rides for Justice in Education, a bus trip with other youth and adult allies from New Orleans to Washington D.C. for the Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action with visits to Civil Rights landmarks and conversations with some of the original freedom riders along the way. For the ride, we were joined by youth and adults representing Rethink: Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools, Fyre Youth Squad, People's Institute for Survival and Beyond, Students at the Center, The Porch Cultural Organization and Center, Parents Organizing Network and the Plessy and Furgeson Foundation.



Qasim & Anthony at the National Civil Rights Museum in Montgomery, AL
CLICK HERE for more photos from National Civil Rights Museum.

 While in Washington D.C. at the Save Our Schools Conference, New Orleans Liberation Academy student Anthony Johnson participated on a panel facilitated by our friend Scott Nine, Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Education in America (IDEA). Below are a couple clips of Anthony on that panel.

Like Anthony said, lets "keep that fire burning!"