| Home > Community Forum > Building a Movement: Lessons from the Civil Rights Era in the Deep South « Previous Entry | Next Entry » |
August 04, 2005
Building a Movement: Lessons from the Civil Rights Era in the Deep South
by Faithful Progressive
This year my family took a spring break trip that was spent mostly in the very Deep South-- the Mississippi Gulf Coast, New Orleans and a side trip to visit relatives in Montgomery, Alabama. Montgomery happens to be the hometown of the Founder of the Christian Alliance for Progress, Patrick Mrotek. I have heard Patrick speak passionately about how inspired he was growing up there as Dr. King and others articulated a stirring Vision of a better America and world. And it is Montgomery, the birth place of the Civil Rights Movement, that sticks with me from our spring break trip-- particularly visits to both the Rosa Parks Museum and a private tour of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott is probably known by most of our readers, but there are a number of lessons from those struggles that call out to us today as we try to build a Movement to reclaim Christianity and transform American politics. I hope that we can have a discussion with Patrick about how these two movements are related in an Interview I'm planning to do with him over the next weeks. But for now, I’ll just list some of the things that jump out at me after the inspiring and challenging experience of being at the birth place of the greatest Movement for human rights in American history.
1.) Foot Soldiers Stand Tall
The Movement had great leadership, but it was the foot soldiers like Ms. Parks (and thousands of others) who found creative, courageous and co-operative ways to make themselves the catalysts of change; foot soldiers will walk tall if they have a real stake in political outcomes; as we form our Movement we need to make sure that we are open to the ideas and inspiration of all our members.
2.) Include & Inspire All
A Movement of Hope and Aspiration brings people together from all parts of the country and therefore it is dumb to write off areas as hopelessly Red States that are not worth organizing and fighting for--we owe it to the millions of poor in those areas to include them, and they just might know how to help us find our own way; maybe the way forward won't come from a think-tank in Washington D.C., but from a seamstress in Montgomery or children in Birmingham.
3.) The Extreme Right is still with us
It was not many years ago that Extreme Right elements terrorized huge sections of our country in defense of Segregation--they largely did so in the name of a distorted and dangerous view of Christianity; they quoted the Bible chapter and verse to support this reign of terror in the South; these elements are still a force to be feared and one that needs to be confronted if real change is to again come to this country; Middle America is turned off by extremism and will reject it in favor of its better angels when given a clear choice.
4.) Religious Leaders can be a Potent Force.
The moral authority of Movement activists was enhanced and inspired by the leadership of hundreds of progressive religious leaders, black and white, Christians, Jews, and Muslims--religious leaders of many faiths who literally put their lives on the line for what was right; secular progressives & moderates and religious leaders worked well together and did so from a position of mutual trust and respect.
5.) Vision & Action
The African American church leaders in Montgomery put their own egos aside to defer to a 27 year old newcomer Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who was able to articulate a compelling Vision and who was also willing to put that vision into Direct Action; Dr. King did not spend all of his energy bashing the Right (he did not have to tell people how evil they were-it was well understood), his speeches are filled with a hopeful Vision that inspired hope that together we could make America a better place.
6.) Don't just Visit Black Churches in October & November.
Moderate, liberal and progressive leaders need to listen to African American church leaders and members on a year round basis; the recent and historic coming together of Black Baptist leaders to develop a common Progressive Agenda is a model and inspiration for all religious and progressive Americans and yet it received little coverage and even less discussion; (see our post: Black Baptist Leaders Unite on Progressive Agenda
7.) Get Kids Involved
One of the key fights of the Civil Rights Movement was the so-called
Children's March in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. There is an inspiring film about this incredible event that started when Dr. King asked all those who would volunteer to go to jail with him to stand up--and mostly just children offered themselves. When your cause is just, its message will inspire people of all ages, including children. Boiling your message down to one word--say, Freedom, then or perhaps Fairness, today--makes it understandable to even small children.
8.) Aim High.
Reflecting himself on the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Dr. King noted that the group’s original list of demands did not include an end to legal segregation. It was only when the opposition failed to compromise on the modest original goals of the group that the greater change became possible. For his part, Dr. King recognized that real change required a new vision of social relationships-the end of segregation- to provide real freedom and hope. From that point on, Dr. King would be satisfied with nothing less than that his Dream of a better America.
These are just a few of the many ways the Civil Rights Movement still resonates today, and Faithful Progressive is inspired and challenged by people like Ms. Parks, who made America a better place. While she inspires us, she also challenges us because there is still so much more to be done. This movement that we are building can be an important part of delivering the Dream to millions of Americans.
Posted by Faithful Progressive at August 4, 2005 10:01 PM
Comments
"Include & Inspire All"
Absolutely, FP...all people, all places...all ways.
Posted by: Ed Rosenberg at August 5, 2005 02:38 PM
Thank you for the road map. This is just what we need to organize and make ourselves heard. We cannot afford to waste our resources fighting the right-wing, we need to uplift ourselves and they will fall in the process. We must always remember that, "the greatest of these is LOVE"!
Posted by: George J. Couch at August 5, 2005 05:41 PM
George and Ed:
Thanks for your replies. One thing I had meant to add but forgot was this: I think the positive and hopeful Vision should flow naturally from our Values Satement and from the many years of being on the front lines of serving local needs that mainstream Christians bring to the table.
FP
Posted by: FP at August 5, 2005 07:29 PM
Yep...as much as possible stick to your values and the "business of Christ." I and, I am certain, many, many Americans are growing tired of the "culture wars" and all the other rhetoric that has been dividing us for some time now. Put your values in action...positively. The people will see. They want to see.
Posted by: Ed Rosenberg at August 5, 2005 08:24 PM
I agree FP with your comment and breaking the culture wars that seem to have divided this era of post modern existenialism and build a wall that is hard to tear down except through prayer. When we unite in this movement and live a life of stone rather than plasticine, we'll see lives changed and families sharing this great gospel. Let's "stick to our values and the business of Christ" as FP says and get past this vacation attitude to Christianity that we live with. Let's throw out the seaweed and beach umbrellas and begin to labour again!!
Posted by: Call for Freedom at May 22, 2006 01:32 AM
