Freedom From the Felon Label

Last updated on: December 10, 2013 at 9:59 am by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Freedom From the Felon Label 2013-12-10T09:59:26-07:00 Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

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Half a century ago, when Freedom Riders came though North Carolina on their way South, they were riding for equal opportunity–for an end to the segregation that said some people deserved less because they were labeled “black.”

This Saturday, when our 21st Century Freedom Riders gather here in Durham, we’ll also be riding for equal opportunity. But today the label isn’t “black.” It’s “convicted felon.”

This year’s ride will end on December 18th, the anniversary of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which outlawed slavery “except as punishment for a crime.”

Today more black men are incarcerated in America than were enslaved in 1850.

So what does it mean to ride and work and pray for an end to the segregation created by the felon label?

This is one of the central questions of our 21st Century Freedom Ride. Kim Brown, founder of OnInmate.com will be joining our us from the ride from Durham to Nashville. To learn more about the public meetings where you can meet us along the ride, see our schedule below. But first, check out Kim’s story in this short video.

ITINERARY

Saturday, December 14 – Ella Baker and the Freedom Movement
Seminar: Give Light and People Will Find Their Way
7pm, Created Equal Film Screening with Bob Zellner and Today’s Freedom Riders (Open to Public)
Durham, NC
Sunday, December 15 – Beloved Community
Worship with the Faith Community Church
11am, Beloved Community Center, Greensboro, NC.
Monday, December 16 – The Power of Organizing
Seminar: We Shall Overcome: The Southern Freedom Movement Today
Highlander Center, TN
Tuesday, December 17 – Nonviolence in the 21st Century
Nonviolence Seminar
7pm, Created Equal Film Screening with Bob Zellner, Rip Patton, John Seigenthaler and Today’s Freedom Riders (Open to Public)
Nashville, TN
Wednesday, December 18 – Building Up A New World
International Civil Rights Center and Museum
Greensboro, NC

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