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Civil rights icon stresses kids’ social engagement

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By Talia Whyte

The Bay State Banner

Drawing on his own inspiring life as an example of how one young person can make a difference, legendary civil rights leader Hollis Watkins, 66, spoke to a group of Boston teachers at Old South Meeting House last Saturday about how to engage today’s youth in pressing social issues.

When he was 19 years old, Watkins became the first student in Mississippi to become a voting rights activist for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He spent most of the 1960s being arrested and jailed for organizing African Americans in the South to vote.

“We must emphasize to our youth today that the civil rights movement was run by the youth,” Watkins said. “When I joined SNCC, I was among the older members at the age of 19. It is up to the young people today to keep the momentum going.”

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‘Axe’ doc shows Katrina victims’ continued struggle

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By Talia Whyte

The Bay State Banner

Local filmmakers Ed Pincus and Lucia Small felt the same way many others did in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: outraged by the lack of government response to victims of the horrific storm.

In late 2005, the pair embarked on a 60-day road trip from New England to New Orleans to see what was really happening to Katrina victims. Along the way, they met with evacuees who shared stories of pain, conflict and hope that transcended traditional divisions of race, class and gender.

Read the full article here.