“Amelia Boynton Robinson has been a leader for her entire life. Her message is timeless, it applies to any generation, any people who are fighting for equal representation. The United We Stand Festival will give her a platform to lead a new generation towards greater freedom and equality.”
– Christina Tobin – Founder and Chair of Free and Equal
Amelia Boynton Robinson, one of the most prominent civil rights leaders of our time has passed away at the age of 104. Amelia has been directly and indirectly responsible for social evolutions stretching throughout the world and across generations. As a young child, Amelia became an active figure in the Women’s Suffrage Movement when she traveled with her mother urging and assisting women to register for voting. As a young woman, Amelia took an active role in the Civil Rights Movement, heading with her husband the NAACP in Selma, the most segregated and dangerous town in Alabama, and living under constant threat of death. In her 50s, she initiated and organized the peaceful actions that culminated in the historic march in Selma, Alabama on 7 March, 1965, now known worldwide as “Bloody Sunday”, which directly led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act on August 6 of that same year.
As a natural leader, Amelia made history in the political world twice by becoming the first African-American woman to run for a seat in Congress from Alabama and the first woman to be on the Democrat ticket in the state. Against all odds, she garnered 10% of the state vote, alluding to the power and prestige within her message of fairness, honesty, and equality.
In her later years, Amelia traveled the globe, speaking out for human rights in Germany, France, Italy, Iran and other countries. In her final year, Amelia aligned her passion for spreading equality with the mission of the Free and Equal Elections Foundation, volunteering to be the keynote speaker for the 2015 United We Stand Festival. Amelia’s tenacity in the face of adversity will reverberate through the ages as a timeless example of selflessness and courage.
In tribute to the honorable Amelia Boynton Robinson, an invitation has been extended to a fellow Civil Rights Leader to speak on her behalf at the 2015 United We Stand Festival. Though Amelia will not be present in body, her spirit will continue to inspire the next generation of leaders, the next generation of selfless and courageous pioneers of social evolution.
Amelia Boynton Robinson has carried the torch of liberty for her entire life, a torch that has been challenged by violence, discrimination, and hate, but always persevered, steady in her hands. At 104 years old, Amelia has passed the torch of liberty to each and every one of us and left us with the charge to be the change we wish to see in the world.
“I was born with no fear whatsoever. As my mother used to say, ‘be sure you’re right, then go ahead.’” -Amelia Boynton Robinson
Please join us on 19 September, 2015 for the United We Stand Festival, at the Belasco Theater, LA, to celebrate the life and legacy of Amelia Boynton Robinson and reignite the flames of liberty within We, the People.
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