"...I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom, equality, justice and prosperity for all people..." ~ Amos Paul Kennedy Jr Hey, readers, meet SouthSide - the social activist! Recently she attended an unconventional conference where educators, teachers, social activists, organizers, etc from all walks of life and backgrounds came together for one common goal - to celebrate the themes inspired by the work and life of Bill Ayers. Held at Chicago-University of Illinois campus, the unconference conference (so titled by Master of Ceremonies, David Stovall) didn't feature long winded boring speeches or reading of panelists' bios followed by one set group of pre-arranged action plans and/or agendas. No, PE blog readers, this was a "working" conference where a collective of ideas, plans as well as agendas that were individually suggested within different groups during the afternoon session. To be honest, this wasn't any ordinary conference SouthSide has ever attended that she didn't fall asleep on or did a whole page of doodlings while the panelists spoke. According to Rick Ayers, Bill's brother, he has "...seen other conferences like [I Would Sing] built around someone's unique contribution..." He also went on to say this conference was "...in a certain way a reflection of the work of Bill Ayers..." adding "...thinking forward to future work in relation to him and his work..." Continue reading →