The Movement History Initiative

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The Movement History Initiative Telling the story of how young people in SNCC united with local communities in the Deep South to build a grassroots movement for voting rights and change.

Today, we celebrate the birthday of Ivanhoe Donaldson, a SNCC organizer whose journey into the movement began with a cal...
10/18/2026

Today, we celebrate the birthday of Ivanhoe Donaldson, a SNCC organizer whose journey into the movement began with a call for solidarity. While studying engineering at Michigan State, he organized a campus food drive and delivered supplies to the Mississippi Delta after officials cut off federal food assistance to thousands of Black families in retaliation for voter registration efforts. Arrested and jailed on false charges shortly after arriving, he emerged even more committed to the struggle for freedom.

As a SNCC field secretary, Donaldson helped lead voter registration organizing in Mississippi, working alongside local communities under the constant threat of violence. A steadfast advocate for Black self-determination, he believed lasting change depended on the leadership, power, and participation of the people most affected by injustice.

Today, the Rubenstein Library at Duke University preserves the Ivanhoe Donaldson Papers, a collection that helps document his life, organizing, and contributions to the freedom struggle. Learn more about Donaldson and explore his story at SNCCDigital.org.

📷: Danny Lyon, CRMVET.org, SNCCDigital.org, SNCCLegacyProject.org, & SamePassage.org

What does it take to become a voter? In 1963, photojournalist Bob Adelman set out to answer that question. Birth of a Vo...
10/16/2026

What does it take to become a voter?

In 1963, photojournalist Bob Adelman set out to answer that question. Birth of a Voter follows Rev. Joseph Carter to West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, as he attempts to become the first Black person to register to vote there in 61 years. After an earlier registration attempt led to his arrest, Carter faced pressured, intimidation, and the possibility of violence. Still, he returned.

Originally published in Ebony magazine and later reprinted by CORE, the article captures the freedom struggle at its most personal: not mass marches or headline-making speeches, but the fierce determination of ordinary people who risked everything to claim rights long denied to them.

The full article can be found at the John Hope Franklin Research Center. It's one of many stories preserved in the archives and across collections, waiting to be rediscovered, explored, and connected to the broader history of the movement.

"Birth of a voter," article by Bob Adelman, CORE (reprinted from 1963 Ebony Magazine), 1963?", Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) "NOW" exhibit photographs and related materials, 1963-1967

Today, we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Joyce Ladner, whose life reflects the powerful connection between education, act...
10/12/2026

Today, we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Joyce Ladner, whose life reflects the powerful connection between education, activism, and the freedom struggle. Inspired to act after the murder of Emmett Till, Ladner became part of a generation of young Mississippians who transformed fear and outrage into organized resistance through SNCC, voter registration campaigns, and direct-action protests.

From helping organize voter registration drives in Mississippi and support for the 1963 March on Washington to earning a Ph.D. in sociology, Ladner carried the lessons of the movement into a distinguished career as a scholar, author, educator, and advocate. She later served in leadership at Howard University, including as interim president, continuing a lifelong commitment to expanding opportunity and advancing social justice.

Learn more about Joyce Ladner and other SNCC veterans at SNCCDigital.org

📷️: CRMVET.org, PDAspeakers.com, & TIME

On Indigenous Peoples' Day, we honor the Native peoples whose generations-long fight for sovereignty and self-determinat...
10/12/2026

On Indigenous Peoples' Day, we honor the Native peoples whose generations-long fight for sovereignty and self-determination has helped shape a broader tradition of freedom struggle and activism in this country.

Preserving movement history means recognizing the many ways people have fought for freedom, the relationships and solidarities built across communities, and a lesson echoed throughout the Civil Rights Movement: no community wins freedom alone.



📷️: Manuel Balce Ceneta

⌛️ ⏰️ APPLICATION DUE TODAY @ 11:59 P.M.The Movement History Initiative is hosting its FIRST EVER Visiting Fellowship fo...
10/09/2026

⌛️ ⏰️ APPLICATION DUE TODAY @ 11:59 P.M.

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.

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

Across the Civil Rights Movement, Freedom Schools were created because activists knew that segregation was sustained not...
10/09/2026

Across the Civil Rights Movement, Freedom Schools were created because activists knew that segregation was sustained not just through violence and discrimination, but through limiting access to knowledge. In classrooms across the South, students studied history, questioned injustice, and gained the knowledge they needed to help transform their communities.

This , we celebrate the power of education and the importance of intellectual freedom. When access to knowledge is restricted, so is people's ability to understand the world around them and determine their own future.

It's not too late to pick up a new book, explore a new perspective, and celebrate the power of knowledge and storytelling in your own life.



📷️: CRMVET.org

Today, we celebrate the birthday of Jimmy Travis, a Mississippi native whose courage helped drive some of SNCC’s earlies...
10/09/2026

Today, we celebrate the birthday of Jimmy Travis, a Mississippi native whose courage helped drive some of SNCC’s earliest voter registration campaigns. After experiencing segregation firsthand as a teenager, he joined the movement and worked alongside Bob Moses and local organizers in some of the most dangerous areas of Mississippi, helping expand the struggle for voting rights.

In 1963, Travis was critically wounded when gunmen opened fire on a car carrying him, Moses, and Randolph Blackwell in the Mississippi Delta. He survived, returned to the work, and became an enduring example of the determination that powered the Movement in Mississippi.

Learn more about Jimmy Travis and other SNCC veterans at SNCCDigital.org

📷️: SNCC Digital Gateway & CRMVET.org

⌛️ ⏰️ ONE MORE DAY....The Movement History Initiative is hosting its FIRST EVER Visiting Fellowship for Artists and Crea...
10/08/2026

⌛️ ⏰️ ONE MORE DAY....

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

Become a part of the legacy! We’ll bring you to the archive this fall! Fill out your application today! 🗓️ Visit window:...
10/06/2026

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

Calling all artists & creatives, MHI's first-ever Visiting Fellowship is here!Two fellows will receive up to $3,000 (hon...
10/05/2026

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

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