Wednesday, August 10, 2016

It's Official!

May 4, 2016



IT’S OFFICIAL! 
SCOPE50 is now a national, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization!


We received a letter from the Internal Revenue Service dated April 20, 2016, notifying us that our application had been approved.  This will make it much easier for us to solicit donations and apply for grants.  According to the letter, “Donors can deduct contributions they make to you under IRC Section 170.  You’re also qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers or gifts under Section 2055, 2106, or 2522.”  

Earlier in April we received our Certificate of Incorporation as a Nonprofit Corporation from the State of South Carolina.  Members of the Board of Directors include Barbara Williams Emerson, Jo Freeman, Bob Heard, Lanny Kaufer, Richard Smiley and myself. 

We are hoping to launch a voter registration campaign by June 1.  There are already some activities taking place in California that Joseph “Rugsy” Ruggiero initiated on his own.  Hopefully, this is something that others of you can do as well.  We are initiating a drive in South Carolina and plan to do this in conjunction with nationwide public service announcements, particularly on urban radio stations, but in print form and on social media as well. We’re hoping that stations will use our promotion as a way of getting the message out about the importance of voter registration and informing the public about the tactics that some states are using to impede people’s ability to vote.  We hope to partner with other groups, such as the League of Women Voters, and with local community organizations.  A new flyer that can be used both as a flyer and a poster is being designed, and we will share it with you when it is ready.

Some of the programs that SCOPE50 hopes to initiate, in addition to voter registration and political education, include poverty (particularly childhood poverty), improving literacy and basic educational skills, violence, and preserving the history of SCOPE and the Civil Rights Movement.




   


IN MEMORIUM
Sadly, we have lost two more freedom fighters.  We lost Ralph Abernathy III in March and we just lost Bob Fitch, who passed away on Friday, April 29, after a long illness.
  
Bob was with SCOPE from the beginning.  He documented our efforts during the SCOPE project in 1965 and went on to document Civil Rights Movement activities in general.  Bob was courageous and fearless in his efforts to tell our story to the general public and to help them understand what the Movement was about.  Bob’s collection of photographs is at Stanford University:  https://library.stanford.edu/collections/bob-fitch-photography-archive.     

Some of us are going through some of Bob’s photos, trying to identify people.  If you think you may be able to help with this, please go to Maria Gitin’s website to look at those photos that need identification:  https://thislittlelight1965.wordpress.com/2015/12/13/please-help-identify-these-foot-soldiers-for-freedom-photos-by-bob-fitch.  If you have information about any of the photos, please contact Maria at msgitin@mariagitin.com.  Also, see Maria’s piece about Bob on her website: https://thislittlelight1965.wordpress.com/2016/04/30/in-memory-of-bob-fitch-civil-rights-activist-photographer/. 


METAL HONORING FOOT SOLDIERS
The US Mint has produced a three-inch bronze medal honoring the foot soldiers of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches. This medal is a 
bronze duplicate of the Congressional Gold Medal that was awarded in 





recognition of the protest marches that took place in March 1965.  




The reverse design features a hand, ballot box and the quote, “Every American Citizen must have an equal right to vote,” from Lyndon B. Johnson’s voting rights speech to Congress.

Bruce Hartford happened to be in Washington, DC in February and attended the ceremony at the US Capitol.  About 500 people attended the ceremony.  Along with leaders of Congress, such as the House Speaker and other leaders, Rev. L. V. Reese from Selma was in attendance.  He was one of the leaders of the Dallas County Voting League in 1965.  


For anyone interested in purchasing the medal, it can be ordered from the US Mint website (www.usmint.gov). Type “Selma to Montgomery marches 1965” in the Search box, selecting the Products option.  The price is $39.95.  This can be a way of honoring your contributions as a foot soldier in the Civil Rights Movement.

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