Where did the name Free Montgomery come from?
Harkening back to the 1960s, when the Black Panthers Party was founded in Oakland and offered a Free Breakfast for Children program, the name Free Montgomery echoes the cries of “Free Huey (Newton)” and “Free Angela (Davis),” as well as the time Free Montgomery founder Randy Brooks spent living in Montgomery, Alabama.
Past Accomplishments
While still in start-up mode, Free Montgomery has participated in a number of activities to date. Here is a partial list:
- Provided direct outreach. People donated food and clothes to Free Montgomery and, every Wednesday, Free Montgomery
volunteers redistributed it to homeless individuals who visited the Free Montgomery Drop Zones.
- At ‘First Friday,’ a monthly event in Oakland, featuring art, food, entertainment, and community, the public tagged donated cars as part of an effort to raise awareness of the homeless issue.
- Free Montgomery participated in the Mayor of Oakland’s ‘Messenger for Change’ program, sponsored by Peace in the Parks Program. Billed as an evening of family, fun, and food, the intent of the events was to to peacefully take back Oakland parks in areas with a history of gun violence.
- Piedmont Elementary School and the YMCA teamed up to provide Free Montgomery with food and clothing donations to be distributed to the local homeless. As a thank you, Free Montgomery, along with VAMP, hosted an interactive art event for Piedmont Elementary School and the YMCA, providing education about the issues of homelessness, interactive art and music, and cars for the kids to tag (legally, of course).
- Participated in the ‘Summer of Solutions, Oakland,’ in the Fruitvale district of Oakland. The event was a summer camp of interactive art for underprivileged children. The event helped educate and raise attention to the issue of homelessness.
- Provided direct outreach. People donated food and clothes to Free Montgomery and, every Wednesday, Free Montgomery
volunteers redistributed it to homeless individuals who visited the Free Montgomery Drop Zones.
- At ‘First Friday,’ a monthly event in Oakland, featuring art, food, entertainment, and community, the public tagged donated cars as part of an effort to raise awareness of the homeless issue.
- Free Montgomery participated in the Mayor of Oakland’s ‘Messenger for Change’ program, sponsored by Peace in the Parks Program. Billed as an evening of family, fun, and food, the intent of the events was to to peacefully take back Oakland parks in areas with a history of gun violence.
- Piedmont Elementary School and the YMCA teamed up to provide Free Montgomery with food and clothing donations to be distributed to the local homeless. As a thank you, Free Montgomery, along with VAMP, hosted an interactive art event for Piedmont Elementary School and the YMCA, providing education about the issues of homelessness, interactive art and music, and cars for the kids to tag (legally, of course).
- Participated in the ‘Summer of Solutions, Oakland,’ in the Fruitvale district of Oakland. The event was a summer camp of interactive art for underprivileged children. The event helped educate and raise attention to the issue of homelessness.