Jayanni Webster is selected to participate in PBS' Student Freedom Ride

Jayanni Webster, a junior at University of Tennessee at Knoxville will be part of the 2011 Student Freedom Ride, which will retrace the 1961 civil rights bus rides. Webster, is a graduate of Wooddale High School. Webster is a very charming young African American lady, with open mind, that serve as a role model among African American students who need to venture more and more to see others outside the US and learn more about the world views, PBS' "American Experience" announced that Webster and 39 other college students from around the U.S. have been selected for the ride. Nearly 1,000 students nationwide applied; the 40 selected were chosen based, in part, on their social media and civic engagement involvement.

The Student Freedom Ride will mark the 50th anniversary of the May 1961 Freedom Rides and will coincide with the airing of "Freedom Riders," a film directed by Stanley Nelson, that premieres on "American Experience" at 9 p.m. on May 16. Webster and the Student Freedom Riders will begin their 10-day bus trip on May 6 in Washington, D.C., and visit historically significant locations around the South, ending in New Orleans on May 16. They will be accompanied by some of the original Freedom Riders.

Webster has crafted her own major through the College Scholars program. Her interests include education and society, particularly education policy and school-based programs focusing on issues like violence prevention, peace, leadership, and cultural education. Her specialization is in post-conflict education in Africa. Webster, like Lindsay McCain and other made Northern Uganda proud of their work in the region, they are true American Ambassadors abroad, Webster continue to support Northern Uganda even though she has returned to the US, A spirit one would like to see highlighted more and more about America role in providing peace worldwide. Webster became particularly interested in African education after she got involved in UT's Jazz for Justice, a group started by religious studies professor Rosalind Hackett in 2006 to raise awareness about the war and subsequent cease-fire in northern Uganda. During the spring and summer of 2010, Webster conducted research in northern Uganda. She plans to apply for a Fulbright Fellowship and an Inside Collaborative Peace Fellowship, both of which would take her to Africa to do research and work with non-governmental organizations in peace-building, development and education. Webster also is considering going to graduate school or working for a refugee resettlement agency in the United States. Jayanni,is also the president of her campus’ Amnesty International chapter. She also serves as a Baker Scholar for the Howard Baker Center for Public Policy and is a member of Tennessean’s for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. Inspired by her work with The Knoxville Jazz for Justice Project, which promotes music and the arts as tools for peace-building and reconciliation in northern Uganda, she spent time living in the region in 2010.
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