Assembly 2006

Youth and Elders

The young people had a chance to meet elders at the RDLN Assembly, including RDLN Board member Hon. Dr. Unita Blackwell (l), a graduate of the National Rural Fellows program, for whom the SRBWI youth program is named; Civil Rights singer Emory Harris (5th from left), and Shirley Sherrod (3rd from left), our Vice Chair and Assembly host

Youth Participation at the Assembly

Ten young people were invited to be part of the RDLN Assembly in Georgia. Seven came from the local Albany area, one from the Flathead Reservation in Montana, one from California, and one from Plains, Georgia. The young people went on the site visits, experienced the Civil Rights history immersion, led a session on Education and spoke at our banquet Saturday night.

Reflection on the State of Civil Rights

Kawanda Reese

What will our children think of the world we made?
What if this exists for another decade?
Cou ld you live with yourself and let this go on
Or are you ready to step up and be counted upon?

Kawanda Reese, from the Albany area, recited "State of Civil Rights", a poem that she had written.

Hermalinda Guzman

Until recently, Hermalinda Guzman chaired the board of Lideres Campesinas, a statewide farmworker women's organization based in California and headed by RDLN Leader and Board member Mily Treviño-Sauceda. She attended RDLN's National Network Assembly in California, hosted by Lideres. (Assembly 04)

Ronnie Hesselgesser

R.J. Hesselgesser, descended from Te-Moak Shoshone tribe in Nevada, is the son of RDLN graduate Suzanne Kinkade. He lives on the Flathead Reservation and has a special interest in the environment.

Education Session - A Critique by Youth

The young people present took the lead in the discussion on Education, which was facilitated by Annie Wright Huff, an RDLN Leader who was the first African-American school board member in Marvell, Arkansas and served several years as school board president.

The three main concerns put forward by the youth, who spoke about their own experience, were 1) violence, 2) absence of constructive activities and programs, and 3) lack of student representation in decision-making.

Assembly 2006
Site Visits
Black/Brown Relations
Credit Union
Ralph Paige Recognition