Church of Scientology Hosts Black History Month Evening of Living History

WASHINGTON - March 5, 2015 - PRLog -- The Church of Scientology National Affairs Office hosted their Black History Month Celebration featuring an evening of living history with a photo exhibit of selected works of civil rights photographer Bob Fletcher and introductions to the era from Founding Executive Director of the African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation and Museum, Frank Smith, and DC Black History Celebration Committee leader Chuck Hicks.  Life long civil rights and local activist Dorie Ladner was also in attendance.

Chuck Hicks laid out the general background of what was happening in and around 1964 in the Southern United States.  1964 saw a bitter struggle between growing Black organizations and entrenched segregationist views.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, but segregation continued and blacks were subject to beatings, false arrests and arsons.  Hick’s father was active in the Civil Rights movement in 1964 in Louisiana and became known for standing up to the KKK, who threatened to lynch him for continuing to house civil rights workers in his home.  Three civil rights workers, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi that summer.

Frank Smith, founding member of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), spoke about what led to his involvement in the civil rights struggle, the formation of SNCC and the obstacles that had to be overcome, especially, the right to a voice and a way to change the country’s policies democratically.   Blacks were still not being allowed to register and vote:  literacy tests, history tests, anything to keep blacks out of the polls were dreamed up.

To overcome this, the Congress on Racial Equality and SNCC, with John Lewis (now Congressman) at the helm, organized the Mississippi Summer Project, also known as Freedom Summer.  Over 1,000 mostly white volunteers weathered abuse, denigration and violence in order to assist black voters to register to vote while they formed and manned Freedom Schools, which prepared the local youth and disenfranchised adults to vote and actively participate in the democratic process.  The Freedom Schools were the forerunner of a program called the Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM), set up to reach the younger children, which in 1967 became the country’s first Head Start program.

Keynote speaker, Scientologist Bob Fletcher a documentary photographer and photojournalist during this time, as well as a member of the SNCC Central Committee, documenting SNCC’s activities for release to media outlets all over the world, as well as taking an active part in the movement.  Mr. Fletcher relayed his personal story and the events that led him to Mississippi in the summer of 1964 and discussed photographs featured in the evening exhibit that he had taken as part of his activities, focusing on the newly forming Freedom Schools and CDGM.

Beth Akiyama, Executive Director of the Church’s National Affairs Office commented that “It was an honor to host this very important evening of living history—American History.  The importance of education is sometimes overlooked when it comes to empowerment.  It was important in 1964 and is equally important today.  We were therefore very pleased to be able to announce the upcoming opening of our Church supported literacy program, Applied Scholastics, on 16^th Street NW to continue efforts in bringing equality and tolerance through education”.