Civil Rights Lessons

Her name is Annie. Her name card reads: "Civil Rights Activist and Foot Soldier". She was in the Selma March on 7 March, 1964. She says she was the first one arrested. I asked her if the marchers sang and prayed. "No time for that", she said. When we first met, she was on the phone with an author who is writing an account of the march and she wanted Annie's recollections. We talked a few yards from the Edmund Pettis Bridge. As we shook hands I thanked her for her witness and encouraged her to keep up the struggle.

Margurite is a tour guide at MLK, Jr's former parsonage. She is 80 years old. She joined Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church while he was pastor (1956-1960). Her affection for her former pastor is clear.

Linda and I traveled the trail of civil rights activists and actions. We visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, located at the old Lorraine Motel where MLK, Jr. was assassinated. We also visited the building across the street, seeing the bathroom where James Earl Ray fired the fatal shot. We stood six feet from the spot where King was shot. We looked inside his room. We visited Birmingham, Alabama, where four children were killed by a bomb at the 16th Street Baptist Church, and where children and adults were water hosed, bitten by dogs, and clubbed by the police in Kelly-Ingram Park. There is also an excellent museum which tells the story. We visited Selma, walked over the bridge, and spoke with Annie. We visited Montgomery, Alabama, visited the Rosa Parks Museum, and stood on the site where Rosa was arrested. We visited Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, viewed King's office, saw his desk, listened to some stories. We climbed the State Capitol steps to stand where Jefferson Davis took the oath of office for the Presidency of the Confederacy, and where the Selma March concluded with King speaking.

What can we learn from this civil rights era to give us courage and purpose for today's struggles? The Civil Rights Struggle must not be relegated to the dustbin of history, having no relevance for today, being only a hollow echo. The struggle is a great teacher and a source of inspiration.

First, there is change only with struggle. The status quo is always reluctant to change. Expect to expend great effort. As Elie Wiesel says: "Neutrality helps only the oppressor, never the victim".

Second, expect to pay a great price. Justice happens only through suffering. We may lose friends. We may lose our job. Our reputations may suffer. We may die. The list of martyrs is long. Step up! A person said: "Votelessness is hopelessness". The children of Birmingham were blown down by the force of fire hoses, but they marched. Freedom now!

Third, be in it for the long haul. First, the Blacks were slaves. Then in 1787, men became 2/3 of a man in our Constitution. Following the Civil War, several progressive civil rights bills were passed, but then not enforced when Union soldiers left the South during the Republican presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes. The disappointment of Plessey v. Ferguson in 1897, opened the door to separate but equal. Yet, hope rebounded in 1954 with the Brown v. Board of Education. The Montgomery Bus Boycott succeeded in ending Blacks sitting in the back of the bus. The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 gave more rights and freedoms to the Black community. In short, freedom evolved over centuries of effort, by people who committed for the long haul.

Fourth, Congress is both helpful and a hindrance. Similarly, the Supreme Court is both helpful and a hindrance. Expect a mixed bag. Politics and justice are contradictory rapid streams AND molasses trying to flow upstream! Yet, the truth is that over time it is congress and the court's actions in creating and interpreting the laws that leads to lasting progress and justice.

Fifth, justice happened when the Federal authority was used to trump individual states' rights. States' rights must not trample on the universal meaning of the Constitution. Today, there is a growing urge to blindly give ultimate power to the states at the cost of justice for all.

Sixth, the church is central to change for justice. Historically, the church was the one place for African-Americans to gather, organize, pray, and hear the moral vision for justice. Meetings often started with prayer, and the pulpit the "sounding horn of Tekoa" for God's grace to shine!

Seventh, justice happens when people are "fed-up being fed-up"! There comes a time when we must say "Enough"! Who is fed-up being fed-up today?

Eighth, ONE PERSON can spark a revolution, can make a difference. Gandhi said: "You must be the change you want to bring forth". Sojourner Truth defended her womanhood by asking the question: "Ain't I a woman?" In front of the Southern Poverty Law Center is a black marble disk with water flowing over the names of martyrs who intentionally or innocently paid the ultimate price for freedom. On the wall behind the disk are the words from Amos: "Let justice roll down like water, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream".

On her card, Annie has printed: "The lessons must be retaught! The story must be retold!" The Book of Hebrews speaks of the "cloud of witnesses who have gone before us". We have been graced by these witnesses to empower us to make justice real today. Let us learn. Let us act.

Peace!
Ron