An Activation Video from #FreedomWalk2026

A quick read today and a link at the end to a video. This took longer than expected as I had to re-learn a video editing program I haven’t used in many years. It took some research and stumbling about but now it’s ready for viewing.

#FreedomWalk2026 was indeed about the actual walk from Maryland to Canada. But the most significant impact of the walk was the people we met and interacted with along the way, the historic sites we visited and learned from, and the Activations: gatherings at schools, churches. city halls, museums, community meeting spaces, etc. Gatherings where we could share with people about our experiences, about our nation’s history that some currently in power are trying to erase, about what we and the attendees at these gatherings feel about where our nation is currently and where we’d like to see things evolve toward: peace, justice, equality, compassion, repair.

At most of these Activations, four of us would share: Tony Cohen, our leader, Lynda Davis, who, along with Venetia Bailey, coordinated all these Activations, me, and the amazing textile artist, Kip Beardsley. On June 20, 2026, at Memorial AME Zion Church in Rochester, New York, a church originally founded more than two centuries ago in 1796, these four presentations were recorded so YOU can watch and take in what was shared all along our pilgrimage.

A big shout-out of gratitude to our filmmaking intern, Abbi Ash, who joined us for several weeks to take videos and still images for future use. You can watch the video of our four presentations HERE.