Speaker and social activist Michael Simmons will be holding a two-hour lecture on Women in the American Civil Rights Movement at the American Corner Budapest this Tuesday, 11 February. Having spent many years engaged in the study of African-American history, and with first-hand experience in the Civil Rights Movement, his talk will be informative and personal.
Michael Simmons has a broad smile and the kind of voice begging to be on the radio. In fact, he began hosting his own radio show, called Soul School, 12 years ago here in Budapest. The show intersperses rhythm and blues with discussions of topical issues of the day.
Michael’s history in social activism stretches all the way back to the 1960s, when he dropped out of college to join the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee – known as SNCC – as a teenager. Now living in Europe, Michael speaks on social issues across topics, and aims to start a discussion among his listeners.
February is African American History Month, and Michael is using the opportunity to highlight the oft-overlooked contributions that women made in the Civil Rights movement in his talk this Tuesday.
“The history of social movements,” he says, “tends to be about men, in spite of all the things that the women were doing. In fact, a lot of the things that men get credit for, women really were the hard-core folks who made it happen”.
He aims to bring a deeper understanding to the topic of Civil Rights. When people talk about social movements, he explains, they tend to focus on the figurehead – Ghandi, Mandela, MLK, etc. “But social movements are much more complex,” he says. “And quite often the people who bear the most intense burden are ignored through history.” It’s one of the reasons why he’s focused on women’s involvement.
Michael has spoken all around Central Europe, and he’s found a receptive audience. “Often I’m speaking to people who may not be very informed about the Civil Rights Movement, but they’re interested. They are more surprised than anything at the information that comes out.” He’s already given this talk once before, at the Közkincs Community Library, run by fellow activist and social powerhouse Antonia Burrows.
Michael came to Europe through an American-based Quaker human rights organisation, the American Friends Service Committee, and he’s lived in Budapest ever since. He and his wife even use their living room as a hotspot for social discussion. “We don’t do it so much any more,” he explains, “but we used to do a monthly Salon, as we call it, where we invite speakers on Human Rights issues to speak in our flat. We’d get anywhere from 30-50 people, we were pretty much the largest Human Rights activity going on in the region!” He adds that often they would develop themes comparing and contrasting the reality of the African-American experience with various situations in Europe.
Tuesday’s talk will take place in the American Corner Budapest, located at Corvinus University. The talk will last for two hours and is free to attend, but registration is necessary as space will be limited. A question-and-answer session will follow. Anyone interested in getting involved in social agendas is encouraged to reach out to Michael, and his radio programme is available online. It is broadcast regularly through Tilos, a popular alternative radio broadcasting station in Budapest. To listen to Soul School, head the website. More information on the talk, including the link for registration, can be found on the Facebook event.
