Activist Millennials

Our #Freedom50 photo gallery is up (link in bio)!

This past weekend, organizers and activists from across the nation gathered in at Tougaloo College in Jackson, MS to commemorate and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer. Among the attendees were the field study participants from Florida, the Dream Defenders, as well as the Ohio Students Association, United We Dream, and youth from Freedom Side. Check out the Freedom Summer 50 gallery, which recounts the weekend's events and celebration participants. We were excited to catch up with the Dream Defenders, with whom many discussions were had about the ongoing work being done on the field study. In addition, we were able to follow-up to gain clarifying information about various questions emerging since beginning analysis of our conversations of the last academic year. They are extremely excited for the forthcoming report on the study and we hope to continue working diligently over the next few months to provide useful data to continue the great work of student activists and organizers.

Last summer, student activists in Florida known as the Dream Defenders held one of the longest sit-in demonstrations in recent Tallahassee history, as they attempted to get Rick Scott to call for a special session on the controversial Stand Your Ground self-defense law. The sit-in began just days after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Though Scott declined to convene such a session, the group received national attention for their actions, and they vowed that they would be back in 2014 to educate thousands of new voters in advance of the 2014 state elections. +Read more

Thank you, again, for your support and interest in this project. We look forward to continuing our work over the summer in preparation for our preliminary report this September. Stay tuned for more updates over the next couple months and please reach out should you have any questions about our study.

Without your support, these two proposals could not have been written. We look forward to updating you later this summer once we hear if our proposals have been accepted. Also, stay tuned for our forthcoming report this fall as well as more interview footage with the outstanding student organizers, the Dream Defenders.

Meet Marie Paul, a student and Dream Defender at the University of Central Florida, who discusses her experiences regarding patriarchy in organizing work and the importance of engaging the topic proactively as a progressive social justice community.

Meet Nickeela Fisher, a student and Dream Defender at Broward College, who shares why she thinks it's important for young people to engage in activism and social justice work.

We recently spent time with students at Florida International University (Miami, FL) where they're organizing students to create awareness about and fight against the school-to-prison pipeline affecting Miami residents. Currently, they are planning on-campus outreach and recruiting initiatives to build their Dream Defenders chapter during Black History Month.

We're Miami building with our Dream Defenders comrades and kicking off the interview portion of our 2013-2014 field study! Stay tuned for an update in February about how things are going and all the great stuff we're learning!

Six city chapters of  Dream Defenders, comprised of students from 8 Florida colleges and universities, convened December 16th - 18th in Orlando, FL to engage in improving their organizing skills, analyze their year-in-review, strengthen their organizational structure, and build their collective power.  Hosted at the University of Central Florida, three 12-hour days we packed with student-led workshops and presentations on capacity building, communications strategies, campaign planning, and interpersonal relationships. + more on DDOD Statewide Retreat

People in New Jersey putting their bodies in the way of the President's Deportation Quota via unitedwedream Photo provided by National Day Laborer Organizing Network for the image.

Last week our executive director, Charles H.F. Davis III, presented AMP to a group of graduate students at the University of Paris-Sorbonne studying innovative technologies in business and international affairs. In his talk, he broadly discussed the use of new media in contemporary social movements in the United States, referencing our ongoing 2013-2014 Field Study. He also was able to establish some key relationships with university faculty for future work of the project, which will examine activism, social justice, and protest by millennials in international educational contexts.

Support our 2013-2014 research study by contributing and sharing with your friends!

Valdosta, GA – A new surveillance video shows Kendrick Johnson wasn’t alone in the gym.

Our 2013 Project Book is now available for download at the new http://activistmillennials.com

New site is up and running!

Today, California was added to the growing list of states allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver licenses!