Quoting Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to the crowd at Bruce Elementary Monday afternoon, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen noted the arc of the moral universe only bends toward justice because of people who take action. People like the Memphis 13. “They helped bend that arc toward justice,” Cohen said in his speech, part of a ceremony at the elementary school that honored…
On October 3, 2016, Bruce Elementary hosted a “Because of You” tribute to Menelik Fombi, Dwania Kyles, and Harry Williams, the three students who desegregated Bruce 55 years before. A complete video of the program is available here from the Shelby County Schools.
The Commercial Appeal is celebrating its 175 years in operation by remembering 175 moments. Among those is the newspaper’s coverage of October 3, 1961, the day the Memphis 13 first desegregated 4 elementary schools in Memphis.
The first day of school can be exciting and scary all at once. It was all that and more for a group of Memphis elementary school children in the year 1961. Years after segregation was outlawed, the Memphis chapter of the NAACP went door to door asking African American parents to allow their 5 and 6 year old children to integrate city…
Historical Markers were placed at Bruce, Gordon, Rozelle, and Springdale elementary schools to commemorate the contributions of the Memphis 13 to Memphis history. Markers Honor Memphis 13 for School Integration – The Commercial Appeal Historical Markers Posted at 4 Schools to Remember Memphis 13 – WREG-TV (with video) Memphis 13 to be Honored with Historical School Markers – Chalkbeat Tennessee New…
The Memphis 13 will be screening throughout March and April in the Philadelphia area on PhillyCAM, Philadelphia’s public access network. PhillyCAM (community access media) aims to promote creative expression, democratic values, and civic participation and is available on both Comcast (channels 66 or 966) and Verizon (channels 29 or 30) cable services in the Philadelphia area. The Memphis 13 will run on…
On February 22, 2015, members of the Memphis 13 will be honored at New Sardis Baptist Church’s History Makers service where they will be awarded the Living Legends award. Dr. L. LaSimba Gray, Jr., New Sardis’ senior pastor and president of Memphis Rainbow PUSH Coalition, understands the significance of paying homage to the Memphis 13 and others who’ve blazed trails throughout history….
The Memphis 13 was among the films features in this fall’s Teaching Tolerance magazine. Teaching Tolerance is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center and is “a place for educators to find thought-provoking news, conversation and support for those who care about diversity, equal opportunity and respect for differences in schools.” Check out the write up of the Memphis 13 and…
Thanks to Congressman Steve Cohen for his remarks in the Congressional Record honoring the Memphis 13 and their families! As we near the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, what a wonderful time to remember the courage of these individuals from a time when they were only 5- and 6-years old. Check out the full text of Congressman…
The Memphis 13 was featured at the University of Pennsylvania’s 2014 Screening Scholarship Media Festival. Thefestival is put on by camra, an interdisciplinary collective of researchers and educators committed to participatory, experimental media-making. The film was
