The Movement History Initiative

Become a part of the legacy! We’ll bring you to the archive this fall! Fill out your application today!

🗓️ Visit window: Nov 1, 2026 – Feb 28, 2027
⏰ Apply by Oct 9, 11:59pm

Info: https://buff.ly/ljBn2cO
Apply: https://buff.ly/Y1CB1fG

October is American Archives Month!✊🏾

For the Movement History Initiative, archives are more than collections of documents, photographs, and records. They are living connections to a movement, a people, and generations of organizers who understood that the struggle for liberation would be long and that their work was part of a much larger tradition that needed to be remembered, studied, and carried forward!

This American Archives Month, we’re celebrating the archives that help us understand where we’ve been while connecting you to the platforms, , and places preserving that history for generations to come!

First things first! 👀

Scan the QR code to check out our “Archiving Movement History” playlist on YouTube and subscribe for more Movement History!

Or click the link: https://buff.ly/oCpJCdK

Calling all artists & creatives, MHI's first-ever Visiting Fellowship is here!

Two fellows will receive up to $3,000 (honorarium + travel stipend) to explore the Legacy of SNCC Collections at the John Hope Franklin Research Center, housed in Duke's Rubenstein Library.

Open to artists, writers, filmmakers, podcasters, and creators of all kinds working on projects rooted in social justice and movement history. Fellows will visit the archive between November 1, 2026 and February 28, 2027, and share their work at a public program in February.

⏰ Applications due October 9, 2026, 11:59 p.m.

For more information on the fellowship: https://buff.ly/ljBn2cO
Apply Here Now: https://buff.ly/Y1CB1fG

MHI's first-ever Visiting Fellowship for Artists & Creatives is open!
Explore the SNCC Legacy Collection and become a part of the legacy!

🗓️ Visit window: Nov 1, 2026 – Feb 28, 2027
⏰ Apply by Oct 9, 11:59pm
💲 Award Amount: up to $3,000 ($2,000 for travel + $1,000 honorarium)

Info: https://buff.ly/ljBn2cO
Apply: https://buff.ly/Y1CB1fG

September 22, 1963 was observed as a National Day of Mourning following the attack on Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church, where four young girls were killed when the Ku Klux Klan planted a bomb at the church. The flyer featured called on people across the nation to mourn the children's murder and to demand federal protection for Black Americans facing racial violence across the South.

Earlier that year, sustained protest and direct action in Birmingham had exposed the brutality of segregation to the world and helped build momentum for major civil rights victories. The bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church was a reminder of the violent resistance that met demands for justice, even as the movement gained ground. The National Day of Mourning transformed grief into collective action, underscoring the stake of the freedom struggle across the South.

Photos and historical materials from crmvet.org

MHI's first-ever Visiting Fellowship for Artists & Creatives is open!
Explore the SNCC Legacy Collection and become a part of the legacy!

🗓️ Visit window: Nov 1, 2026 – Feb 28, 2027
⏰ Apply by Oct 9, 11:59pm
💲 Award Amount: up to $3,000 ($2,000 for travel + $1,000 honorarium)

Info: https://buff.ly/ljBn2cO
Apply: https://buff.ly/Y1CB1fG

Today, we celebrate the birthday of Avon Rollins, a lifelong freedom fighter whose activism began as a teenager in Knoxville, TN. Inspired by the Highlander Folk School and the sit-in movement, he joined local desegregation protests and soon became part of SNCC, which he viewed as the vanguard of the Civil Rights Movement.

In 1963, Rollins answered SNCC's call to Danville, VA and helped lead direct action campaigns against segregation and police violence. He later organized across the South and was arrested nearly 30 times in the struggle for freedom.

Rollins never stopped serving his community. For more than two decades, he led Knoxville's Beck Cultural Exchange Center, preserving Black history, mentoring future generations, and carrying the movement's legacy forward through education and cultural preservation.

Learn more about Avon Rollins and other SNCC veterans at SNCCDigital.org
📷️: SNCC Digital Gateway & Knox News

The Movement History Initiative is hosting its FIRST EVER Visiting Fellowship for Artists and Creatives! ✨

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ( ) understood the power of art and culture in capturing and sharing the spirit of the movement with the communities around it. Continuing that tradition, the John Hope Franklin Research Center, housed at the Rubenstein Library, is awarding two fellows up to $3,000 each ($1,000 honorarium + $2,000 travel stipend) to visit the archive and explore materials in our Legacy of SNCC Collections.

Fellows will travel to the archive between November 1, 2026 and February 28, 2027.

Open to artists, writers, filmmakers, podcasters, and other creators working on projects tied to social justice, Civil Rights history, and global movement building.
Awardees will participate in a public program in February 2027 sponsored by the MHI, showcasing past, present, or future projects and findings from the archive. The honorarium is paid out after the program is completed.

📅 Applications due: October 9, 2026, 11:59 p.m.

For more information on the fellowship: https://buff.ly/ljBn2cO
Apply Here Now: https://buff.ly/Y1CB1fG

Today, on National Voter Registration Day, we reflect on the generations of organizers who urged their communities to register and participate in the decisions shaping their lives.

These posters remind us that voting and voter registration are collective responsibilities. Rooted in a long struggle to secure and expand the vote, civic participation remains a powerful tool in the ongoing pursuit of justice and self-determination. Our participation shapes the future we share.

Register to vote or check your registration status at nationalvoterregistrationday.org.

📷️ : Found at crmvet.org