“Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder.”

The Sunday school example of a martyr is Stephen, stoned to death in the New Testament times . While he gave his life for a cause he deeply believed in, I suppose locking the “martyr” definition under the constraints of death limits the coverage of the word down to a noun that spans less than its true worth. A martyr’s ultimate sacrifice is not unanimously death. The ultimate sacrifice of a martyr is to prioritize their cause over whatever they treasure the most.

The target of our value is not simple material. It is something we have invested our life on. A squirrel, in its acrobatic nature, risks its life amongst the treetops every day, but if it were to lose its abundant amounts of stored food, what would become of it? What would be its purpose? Like an ant with no colony, it has become aimless. Death no longer seems that great of a punishment.

On this first day, I now realize that the civil rights movement is a timeline of countless martyrs. And I do not mean to discount the loss of one’s life as an “easy sacrifice”. It still holds its place as the ultimate sacrifice for almost all because the dead cannot reap the harvest of their lifelong investments. Most importantly, the martyrs that died at the front lines of change gave up control of their legacy. Rather, I admire living martyrs with parallel admiration, because often what they gave up meant the world to them.

In Greensboro, we walked the glazed tiles that the A&T four did back in 1960. The four of them, ages 17-18, college freshmen just like us, led the charge in their city. With a plan as elaborate as a heist, they sat on four chairs, alternatingly pink and blue cushions, with one request: to be served by the diner like a human being.

David Richmond. Franklin McCain. Ezell Blair Jr. Joseph McNeil.

They gave their life. They offered their positions they worked so hard for: ROTC, college, grades, careers, etc. They lost their future in that city. The Greensboro four had no home in their hometown any longer. They were rejected by the town they worked so hard to change for the better. They dug themselves a grave so that a new life could be shared by people of all different backgrounds. I cannot imagine the tenacity it took to continue life among those who live life to watch them die.

And this is just the beginning, The civil rights movement is a movement of martyrs: McKinstry, Lewis, Richmond, McCain, Blair Jr. a.k.a. Khazan, and McNeil. Though we don’t have to give our lives, there is a price to change for the better. Once we’re ready to be martyrs, justice in this world overrules the comfortability and privilege that we college students. It takes priority over whatever pleasure we treasure most. Even peace.

In the same way we remember the more recent stories of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, we need to preserve the legacies of the stories of these pioneers of change through both word and action, paving the path for “a better someday”. Otherwise in due time it will wash away.

Jon Sison

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