The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) came to San Antonio in 1968, when a young, African-American male, Bobby Joe Phillips, was killed by a police officer and the officer was not prosecuted. “We do have a history of this issue,” Abram Emerson, SNCC Legacy Organizer, said at SNCC's “Know Your Rights” workshop at Antioch Baptist Church on Jan. 14.

Black Lives Matter is more than just a buzzword for the decade. It has been the focus for African-American activists for more than 50 years.   The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), formed in the 1960s, was one of the most important organizations of the local Civil Rights Movement. On Friday, Nov. 18, leaders of SNCC and the Black Power Party held a poetry reading at the Little Carver Theater.  

A historic project is underway across the country, and in San Antonio, as veterans of the Student National Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) meet to organize projects and programs that seek to educate the nation. The project in San Antonio will attempt to reach out to young activists in the Black Lives Matter Movement in the form of two events; a poetry reading and a workshop designed to train people on what to do when stopped by the police.

When civil rights leader and social activist Julian Bond died recently, the New York Times referred to him as a “persistent opponent of the stubborn remnants of white supremacy.” President Barack Obama called Bond a friend and a hero. "Justice and equality was the mission that spanned his life,” Obama said. While Julian Bond was a legendary figure beginning in the 1960s, some young people may have no idea who he is or how his life relates to the #blacklivesmatters movement.