Involvement with Journey to Justice

It appears to have been a while, blogspot...

Just a quick update about an exciting opportunity I'm getting involved with!

I'm volunteering in April with Journey to Justice (http://journeytojustice.org.uk/) an organisation promoting human rights movements of the past to inspire people to stand up for injustice today.
They're bringing an exhibition to Newcastle in April on the American Civil Rights movement, and linking it with Newcastle's own radical history. Throughout the month there will be incredible talks, films, music and events promoting human rights of all kinds, and showing the important impact of music on the movement in America in the 1960s. So I'll be present when I can at the exhibition and evening events, answering questions and handing out information.

I met up with the lovely director, Carrie, last week because I could not make the volunteers meeting which had happened the previous day. We had a very interesting chat, introducing me to the project and its aims. Later as I was finishing my cup of tea, Carrie had arranged a meeting with producer and BBC reporter, Murphy Cobbin, who worked on the short film 'A Kings Speech in Tyneside'. This documents Martin Luther King's time there when he received an honorary degree from Newcastle University in 1967, 5 months before he was assassinated. I got chatting to Murphy myself and ended up staying for about 45 minutes of their meeting (oops).

It was a fantastic opportunity to meet with both of these amazing women and hear their experiences of fighting injustice, and their views on civil rights, inspiring me greatly. On doing research in America on the recently discovered footage of MLK's speech in Newcastle, Murphy has recently interviewed many of MLK's friends and fellow activists, including Andrew Young, as well as King's surviving children. She gave us many fascinating insider stories about his life and legacy from her interviews: she literally had me and Carrie hanging on to her every word.

It was a truly remarkable experience I feel really privileged to have had. Perhaps I stayed too long on their meeting (!), but I could not have asked for a better spent, or more thrilling, Thursday afternoon. I am very much looking forward to being involved in the exhibition in Newcastle and following Journey to Justice in its fantastic promotion of human rights.