Freedom Rider memoir spawns new ‘freedom readers’
They say a butterfly flaps its wings and it makes a ripple across the world. Well, right here in Lake Country, Georgia, two high schools, Putnam County High School and Greene County High School, made history while learning about American history.
The graduating classes were challenged to win scholarship money for reading a book, “Buses Are a Comin’: Memoir of a Freedom Rider,” by Charles Person (one of the original Freedom Riders who rode buses into the South with six other Black and six white people to sit together at lunch counters). The response in the South at that time was so outrageous (and violent) that the world saw and got together to fight harder to end segregation. Those Freedom Riders were heroes.
Twenty-seven Lake Country students signed up for the challenge to write a book report after reading the book. The winners would win $1,000 each. Only nine responded, and two were eliminated for using artificial intelligence (AI). After reading their essays, all those who wrote them were deemed winners and they received the scholarships.
But the essays showed such enthusiasm that the schools decided to make this required reading for all seniors during Black History Month. That means that Lake Country students will learn about this period of our history forever. They may have heard about Jim Crow 2.0, but now they will know what Jim Crow 1.0 was. We lost an All-Star game when Joe Biden came down to Atlanta and declared our new voting laws as Jim Crow 2.0, so the game went to Colorado. (By the way, the results of the election were the highest turnout in Georgia history and rated favorably by 96% of our Black community as to how they were treated.)
The sponsors of the Charles Person Freedom Readers’ goal aim to accomplish two items in the next few months: help make this required reading across all Georgia High schools. And also get the original 13 Freedom Riders either a Congressional Gold Medal of Freedom or the Presidential Gold Medal of Freedom by May 4, the 65th anniversary of when the buses left Washington, D.C.
RANDALL HARMAN, GREENSBORO
Make billionaires pay for war in Iran
In regard to “Pentagon seeking $200 billion to fund the war in Iran,” AJC, March 20, the Republicans are trying to paint Democrats as unpatriotic for not supporting this huge amount of money to fund this unpopular war. I am urging Democrats to support this funding request only if a surtax is placed on the billionaire class to pay for it.
I can never understand why working-class Republicans continuously support tax breaks for the super wealthy, while they can barely make ends meet. I guess rigid border control and anti-trans policies are more important than food on the table or affordable health care.
RAY ZAVACKI, DECATUR
