History

Over the past week, we have watched a number of videos and walked through a handful of museums. Invariably, the story of the Civil Rights movement ends with Dr. King’s assassination. Unfortunately, this implies that the work is over…that true equality has been reached.

As this tour nears to a close, I am trying to figure out how I will communicate the lessons I have learned when I get back home. How do I make this relevant when all the history books have turned the page on this chapter?

Today, NPR reported a story about Sebastien de la Cruz, an 11 year-old Mexican-American who was mocked for daring to sing the National Anthem at the NBA finals. What should have been a special moment for this young man ended with booing and a flurry of Twitter comments not because of the quality of his performance, but rather because of the color of his skin. Due to the unbelievably racist nature of the Tweets, I won’t quote them here, but you can check out this website if you want a few examples.

The story of the courageous men, women, and children who refused to accept anything but equality and basic human dignity in the 50s and 60s is far from complete. As a society, we were too quick to turn the page on this chapter. Racism is very much still alive and equality has not been reached.

I pray that God will give us the strength and wisdom to find meaning from the past in order to right the wrongs of injustice today. This task is long overdue.

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