Under the baobab: Those of us still marching honor sacrifices, look toward future
It was spring, 1965. Father George Clements, my mentor and one of the few Black priests in Chicago, called me in San Francisco. John Lewis had asked him to come to Selma. They were going to try again to march to Montgomery, Alabama’s state capital to demand the right to vote for African Americans.
Lewis had his skull fractured by a baton on what became known as Bloody Sunday. Six hundred demonstrators were attacked by the Alabama state police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Many people, Black and white, had been killed in the struggle for the right to vote. Very few eligible Blacks were registered to vote in Alabama. There were no Black elected officials in the state.
I explained to Fr. Clements that I couldn’t go to Selma. I was part of the organizing committee for the Bay Area memorial for Malcolm X, who had recently been assassinated in New York City. Brother Malcolm had visited Selma. He had been invited to speak by Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s wife. Martin was in jail at the time. Many of us believe that Malcolm was killed because of his willingness to join in the mainstream civil rights struggle.
Fr. Clements, John Lewis, MLK and Coretta, Stokely Carmichael and 25,000 others marched and rallied on the steps of the Alabama capital. President Lyndon Johnson, inspired by their efforts, pushed the Voting Rights Act through Congress. It re-enfranchised African Americans for the first time since Reconstruction. Because of the Voting Rights Act, hundreds of Black Americans were democratically elected to public office throughout the country. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in its Louisiana vs. Callais declared that Louisiana’s second Congressional district was unconstitutionally drawn because it relied too much on race. It effectively gutted the substance and spirit of the Voting Rights Act.
Most of those who marched in the ‘60s have joined the ancestors. Those of us who remain will lift up the “bloodstained banner” in their stead. We will meet at the Edmund Pettus Bridge and at State College’s Allen Street Gates and hundreds of other town and city centers across the nation. We will march, remembering the sacrifice of our elders but also to help rebuild our democracy for our children and grandchildren. On this 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we must acknowledge that the struggle is not over.
Around town
Congrats to Elana Joy Laing and the 15,000 other Penn State students who graduated last week. Joining the hundreds of other parties, Elana’s mother, Leslie Laing, and Rev. McKenzie, pastor of Unity Church and his wife, Shani sponsored a celebration that filled the parish hall.
Congrats to tennis players David Lindsay, Marcus Schoeman and Michael Wright for being named Academic All-District selections.
Congratulations to Penn State Bellisario College COMM 474 Depth Reporting journalism students whose PennLive reports on Moshannon Detention Center were highlighted on the Rachel Maddow Show on Monday.
Congratulations also to friend and colleague Cindy Hahn, retiring as executive director of C-NET after 20 years, and Steve Manuel, retiring from Bellisario College after 30 years.
Representatives of each Centre County law enforcement agency, local officials and community members gathered in Bellefonte this week to honor peace officers who gave their lives in the line of duty, including Patrolman Andrew Duarte, Detectives Isaiah Emenheiser, Cody Becker and Mark Baker and Officer Andy Chan.
The One Hand Foundation is sponsoring a Middle Eastern Dinner at the Friends Meeting House Thursday, May 21 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tempest Productions’ “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” opened Thursday, May 14 and will run until Sunday, May 17. Mary Rose Valentine directs and performs with Felix Bartuska, Sam Birkenthal, Jessica Karp, Cynthia Mazzant. Fiona Mulley, Drew Pirrone-Brusse, Adam Swartz, Clark Valentine, Laura Waldhier and Audra White.
Tuesday is Pennsylvania primary day. See you at the polls. Meet you at the Bridge.
Charles Dumas is a lifelong political activist, a professor emeritus from Penn State, and was the Democratic Party’s nominee for the U.S. Congress in 2012. He is a Lions Paw honoree. He lives in State College with his wife and partner of over 50 years.