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Gary Orfield, Co-Director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, says, "We believe that we may be training the next Martin Luther King, Jr. or Cesar Chavez."
Accordng to Christopher Edley, Jr., Co-Director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, "We will be giving these remarkable students intense academic preparation at Harvard on civil rights history and policy from a multi-racial perspective before sending them down to Washington, DC."
The goal of CRS is to provide 20-25 emerging social justice leaders with knowledge and training to advance a civil rights agenda. The fellowship will promote leadership development in three ways:
1. professional,
2. academic, and
3. personal.
William L. Taylor, Acting Chair of the Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights states, "We expect this program to encourage new student leaders to continue the battle for civil rights and to meet new challenges to establish social and economic justice."
CRS begins with an intensive week of rigorous academic training at Harvard University. By the end of the first week, Fellows gain a foundation of contemporary and historic civil rights knowledge.
The Fellows then head to Washington D.C. for seven weeks where they work in field placements at top civil rights organizations in the nation's capital.
"We have received incredible support from other national civil rights organizations who have been more than willing to welcome these students into their organizations," states Karen McGill Lawson, Executive Director of LCEF. "All of the civil rights organizations recognize the important role they can play in mentoring future social justice leaders."
By the end of the summer, Fellows have grappled with, lived, and shaped the social justice movement. Our experience shows that the vision of social justice takes on a whole new meaning for our Fellows - it is not a fuzzy phrase anymore. Social justice becomes real.
According to Wade Henderson, Executive Director of LCCR,"This program is a positive step forward in our effort to develop a cadre of well trained and prepared leaders to continue the hard work of veteran civil rights advocates. The future of equality and 'justice for all' rests in their hands."
