CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY CENTER
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • 2024 Impact Report
    • Audited Financial Statements
    • Volunteer
    • Privacy Policy
  • Programs
    • Food & Supply Pantry
    • K-8 Programs >
      • After School
      • Cowemoki Summer Enrichment Program
      • Enrollment
    • The Hip Hop Transformation (Teen)
    • Mental Health ACCESS Program (Teen)
    • 2B-EPIC
  • Rent Space
  • Contact
  • Donate

Article Archives

Cambridge Community Center Youth Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day with Donated Tickets to a Screening of "Selma"

2/5/2015

0 Comments

 
Author: Cambridge Community Center youth and youth workers

On January 19, 2015 a small group from Cambridge Community Center went to go see the movie ‘Selma.’ The plot was astonishing, depicting an lesser known battle of the Civil Rights Movement. Some of the scenes displayed gruesome images, and the overall message was clear: it had been a trying and, at times, tragic slog towards achieving equality. Seeing the elderly brutally beaten numerous times left a rancid taste in the mouths of both myself and my peers. ‘Selma’ was not an easy movie to watch, but it did come across as an important one to see.

“‘Selma’ was an inspirational and enlightening movie,” said one of the audience members as he reflected on his viewing experience as we rode home from the theater. Prior to seeing the movie, we’d all had small conversations about what we’d heard, seen, and thought about the movie. Some people had seen the trailer and some people knew very little. With expectations extremely high, the film blew us away in unexpected ways. Mixed emotions flew all over the place as the movie progressed. Tears were shed and giggles were quivered as the movie solemnly progressed. “The movie made me think about how people had suffered for their rights,” said another youth after seeing it.

On the bus ride home, many voices spoke over each other about their feelings. No one was untouched by what they had seen, and the movie had everyone thinking about the current racial climate. It was impossible to not connect the Civil Rights movement of the past with the civil rights violations of today. Was it worth it, what Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers had fought for? Did they succeed in attaining their goals? ‘Selma’ is not a movie to be taken lightly. It’s subject is serious and it’s viewpoint unwavering. For all those who see it, it is will be eye opening and unsettling but essential and unforgettable as it was for us.

-Cambridge Community Center youth and youth workers

This is a Martin Luther King Jr. mural uncovered in our art room last year:

Picture

And a poster for the film:

Picture
Afterword from Executive Director Corinne Espinoza:

Thanks to a generous donation from area African American business leaders, the Cambridge Community Center was able to take a group of 14 to see Selma on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  Our group had middle schoolers, high schoolers, a first year college student, their teachers and youth workers.  The movie was powerful and difficult to watch. While we know the troubled history of our country, seeing it on the big screen was still startling and elicited reactions ranging the gamut from grief and anger to hope. Led by Kwame Dance, a CCC Board Member and the Director of the Moore Youth Center, we held a debrief with the group afterwards.  We went from one word reactions about the movie to making connections between the past and the present.  We talked about the future that we want.  Our youth talked about racism and inequalities that exist today and discussed what it meant to be a change maker.  We ended our talk with a group of youth fired up to talk to the Cambridge City Council about what could be better in our City.  Thank you donors, for helping us use art as a tool for social change.  
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    April 2018
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    November 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All
    Adolescence
    African American
    After School
    Art Bazaar
    Artists
    Arts
    Benefit
    Board Of Directors
    Budget
    Budgeting
    Cambridge
    Cambridge Arts Council\
    Cambridge Community Center
    Cambridge Health Alliance
    Cambridge Police Department
    Camp
    Children
    Community
    Development
    Developmental
    Doctor
    EBT
    Exchange
    Families
    Farm
    Farm Bill
    Farmers Market
    Finance
    Food
    Free
    Gallery
    Gardening
    Growing
    Growth
    Happiness
    Harvard
    Health
    Healthcare
    High School
    Hip Hop
    History
    Honoring
    Hunger
    Kennedy School Of Government
    Learning
    Market
    Martin Luther King Jr.
    Minecraft
    Music
    Negotiation
    Nutrition
    Obesity
    Open Studios
    Performance
    Positivity
    Psychology
    Renovation
    Resolutions
    Restoration
    Riverside
    Saving
    Selma
    SNAP
    SNAP Matching
    Social
    Special Event
    Summer
    Summer Program
    Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program
    Support
    Tarbell School
    Teaching
    Teen
    Teenage
    The Hip Hop Transformation
    Trade
    Van
    Well Being
    Well-being
    Wellness
    Winter Farmers Market
    Youth

    RSS Feed

Interested in learning what's new at CCC? Subscribe to our newsletter!


​
​© 2024 Cambridge Community Center, Inc.
2139 enter is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization

  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • 2024 Impact Report
    • Audited Financial Statements
    • Volunteer
    • Privacy Policy
  • Programs
    • Food & Supply Pantry
    • K-8 Programs >
      • After School
      • Cowemoki Summer Enrichment Program
      • Enrollment
    • The Hip Hop Transformation (Teen)
    • Mental Health ACCESS Program (Teen)
    • 2B-EPIC
  • Rent Space
  • Contact
  • Donate