Thoughts on Today - January 20, 2009

First off, I am really into the "Civil Rights" era in American history. I teach 8th grade English, yet I make my students study the Civil Rights movement and we read a lot of Dr. King's writings. I have read a lot about the movement and Dr. King, so today was a really rad day for me. Now, I'm not a big fan of government and I don't believe that America is the "last, great hope on Earth" but I couldn't help but rejoice in the historical impact of an African American becoming the President. My whole school went down to the auditorium to watch the oath and Obama's speech and the part that got me the most was when he mentioned that 60 years ago his father would not have been able to eat a certain restaurants and the camera cut to John Lewis who stood up. All I could think about was John Lewis crossing the bridge in Selma and getting attacked by state troopers for trying to assert their rights as citizens. I thought about the college kids who wrote out their last will and testament before they boarded buses to ride through the deep south, knowing that there was a very good chance of them loosing their lives. I thought about those same kids who pulled up to a bus station and looked out the window and a mob of people with bats, chains, clubs, lead pipes, ect. just waiting to beat the shit out them because these college kids wanted to stand up for justice. I thought about Bob Moses and the years he lead voting registration drives in Mississippi where he was beaten and jailed only to see no one get registered but he continued on.
To me, it seems that the Civil Rights movement is too overlooked in our history classes and it's sad that when John Lewis stood up today, I would bet that none of those students knew who he is or why he was standing. I hope we don't forget the sacrifice of those before us; the nonviolent example that they gave to us and I really hope we remember that the movement was birthed and thrived in the church. Justice, love, and peace were central ideas to the Movement and to the Kingdom that Jesus preached. Today we should all remember those ideals and strive to do our part to bring that Kingdom to our corners of the world, regardless of your political or theological views.