Change Ain’t Easy But Here’s How To Do It
May 16, 2011 at 6:07 PM 4 comments
I was alive during the age of the Freedom Riders. I remember the four little girls who died in the bombing of the Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. I was their age. This would be me at 11-years-old:
I remember being afraid because my father took part in civil rights marches in those days. My 11-year-old self was scared someone would throw a bomb through our “picture window” in Bloomington, Indiana because of what he did. Or burn a cross on our front lawn.
Watch Freedom Riders tonight on PBS. It’s a lesson in how to make change, scary as it is:
Entry filed under: Bravery, Dumbed Down, Education, Laws / Judiciary, Media - General, Racism, Religion, Repression, We the People. Tags: .
1.
Janet | May 16, 2011 at 6:44 PM
I too, was 11 years old and boy, do I remember. I had spent the morning in Sunday School and church, and all I could think about was that those girls were in Sunday School just like I had been. I was scared too. My dad was a minister who preached civil rights from the pulpit and so my adolescent mind jumped to a bomb in our church, even though it was a white congregation in Northern IL. I think it’s the first news story I can recall vividly, one that I was interested in on my own. I remember where I was sitting, where the TV was in the living room, etc. I cried and cried “Mommy, those girls were in Sunday School!” (The news, of course, was in black and white, with someone talking behind a desk, and showing photographs, mainly.)
Thanks for the heads up. Have you seen Four Little Girls?
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Say It Ain't So Already | May 16, 2011 at 7:58 PM
Wow. Janet — your account is so moving.
No, I haven’t seen Four Little Girls but I’m going to.
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Janet | May 16, 2011 at 9:44 PM
Well your account is quite moving too. Very similar, in fact. Apparently we both have wonderful parents.
4.
Janet | May 16, 2011 at 10:16 PM
A-parent-ly Hahahahaha
#onetoomanyglassesofwine