Catherine Murphy

A United States daily progressive, nonprofit, independently syndicated program of news, analysis, and opinion.

In 1963, global icon Paulo Freire led an experimental project teaching hundreds of rural farmers to read, write and vote in Brazil, until he was arrested and forced into exile during a U.S.backed coup d'etat.

Created from the 16mm archive of the groundbreaking "You Got to Move" (a 1985 film about educating activists in the civil rights and labor movements at the legendary Highlander Center), "They Say I'm Your Teacher" focuses on another agent of change, Bernice Robinson. This hairdresser from South Carolina sought to extend voter registration by teaching at Citizenship Education Schools.

Ana Deborah Mola and Belkis Lescaille were among the first young teachers who started pilot programs around the island of Cuba in 1960, laying foundation for the massive National Literacy Campaign that would take place the following year.

Cuba, 1961: 250,000 volunteers taught 700,000 people to read and write in one year. 100,000 of the teachers were under 18 years old. Over half were women. MAESTRA explores this story through the personal testimonies of the young women who went out to teach literacy in rural communities across the island - and found themselves deeply transformed in the process.

A United States daily progressive, nonprofit, independently syndicated program of news, analysis, and opinion.

In 1963, global icon Paulo Freire led an experimental project teaching hundreds of rural farmers to read, write and vote in Brazil, until he was arrested and forced into exile during a U.S.backed coup d'etat.

Created from the 16mm archive of the groundbreaking "You Got to Move" (a 1985 film about educating activists in the civil rights and labor movements at the legendary Highlander Center), "They Say I'm Your Teacher" focuses on another agent of change, Bernice Robinson. This hairdresser from South Carolina sought to extend voter registration by teaching at Citizenship Education Schools.

Created from the 16mm archive of the groundbreaking "You Got to Move" (a 1985 film about educating activists in the civil rights and labor movements at the legendary Highlander Center), "They Say I'm Your Teacher" focuses on another agent of change, Bernice Robinson. This hairdresser from South Carolina sought to extend voter registration by teaching at Citizenship Education Schools.

Ana Deborah Mola and Belkis Lescaille were among the first young teachers who started pilot programs around the island of Cuba in 1960, laying foundation for the massive National Literacy Campaign that would take place the following year.

Cuba, 1961: 250,000 volunteers taught 700,000 people to read and write in one year. 100,000 of the teachers were under 18 years old. Over half were women. MAESTRA explores this story through the personal testimonies of the young women who went out to teach literacy in rural communities across the island - and found themselves deeply transformed in the process.

Cuba, 1961: 250,000 volunteers taught 700,000 people to read and write in one year. 100,000 of the teachers were under 18 years old. Over half were women. MAESTRA explores this story through the personal testimonies of the young women who went out to teach literacy in rural communities across the island - and found themselves deeply transformed in the process.