FSC is partnering with longtime activist Fred Ross, Jr. and award-winning documentary filmmaker Ray Telles on the making of a documentary on the life of legendary activist Fred Ross, Sr. to inspire a new generation of activists to organize for systemic change. For more than half a century Fred Ross Sr. was an organizer, educating, agitating, and inspiring future advocates to overcome fear and cynicism. He taught people how to “do away with fear “ by taking collective action to combat racism, bigotry, and greed. As Cesar Chavez once observed, “ Fred did such a good job of explaining how poor people could build power, I could even taste it: it’s like digging a hole - there’s nothing complicated about it .”
Fred’s groundbreaking organizing efforts created positive systemic change – improving the lives and livelihoods of thousands. After World War II, in the face of KKK activity, Fred organized right Civic Unity Leagues in California’s Citrus Belt , bringing Mexican - Americans and African Americans together to battle segregation in schools by building their Voting Power holding elected officials accountable. And, in Orange County, CA he organized parents to fight rampant segregation in the local schools and successfully integrated local school boards across the Citrus Belt through Voter Registration drives and civic engagement.
Perhaps the most dramatic outcome of his early work occurred when Mexican- American parents sued the Orange County school districts and prevailed - laying the foundation for the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown vs Board of Education which finally declared segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional!
Fred Ross, Sr. learned that to win systemic change requires identifying, recruiting, and developing grassroots leaders who will go on to create local organizations that build enough power to prevail. He mentored leaders like Dolores Huerta , Cesar Chavez , Ed Roybal , Cruz Reynoso , Herman Gallegos, and countless others who went on to change the lives of millions in the U.S. and across the globe.
