Sixty years ago August 28, 250,000 people participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Burton and I worked and marched in the Civil Rights Movement in St. Louis, Valparaiso, IN, and Detroit in our twenties. The non-violent protests and organization led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, followed by the Voting Right Act of 1965.
So, where are we now, 60 years later? Ongoing police brutality, racism, economic inequality, homelessness, Christian nationalism, white supremacy, a lack of affordable healthcare and quality education for all. We can't just remember "the dream." The "fierce urgency of now" is upon us. What are you called to do? What are we called to do together?
Burton and I worked with Linda Ridgeway and her family in Detroit during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960's. Now, all in our 80's, Linda visited us recently here in Mason City. The beloved community!
We in the United State had been watching the Women's Soccer World Cup. Great games. Many simply assumed that the U.S. would win the title. However, when Sweden beat the U.S., suddenly the U.S. coverage stopped. Why? Because the U.S. could not, would not win? Sad. The U.S. should not always win. And we in the U.S. should be interested in all teams from around the world are doing. There were quite a few teams from small, poorer nations, including Haiti. They matter too!
August 6 is Hiroshima Day. People are taking note this year because of the movie Oppenheimer. I remember August 6, 1945. I was baptized August 6, 1939. I was seven years old the day the U.S. dropped the bomb on Japan. Little did we know then what devastation a nuclear bomb would bring. Coincidentally our third son, Kirk, was baptized on August 6, 1969. Now 54, he and I do fully realize the devastation of war in a nuclear age. We work for peace, living out our baptisms of life in Jesus Christ.
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