Mr. Dahle Goes to St. Paul

Freedom can’t wait…a message Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered to the local clergy in his letter from a Birmingham Jail.  I just returned from Atlanta, Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama this past weekend on a civil rights field trip with 31 other teachers from Northfield, Minnesota.  Birmingham could be considered a civil rights museum with some important historic artifacts:  the 16^th Street Baptist Church, Kelly Ingram Park, the Civil Rights Institute, Sloss Furnaces, and the buildings and infrastructure that provided background for a city ignited in 1963. The events of Birmingham that year paved the way for a long slow process of integration in a segregated south.

Freedom didn’t wait for the thousands of black workers who worked at the Sloss Furnaces, an iron works factory which provided the economic stimulus for a young Birmingham in the late 19^th century.  Nearby iron ore, railroad lines, and cheap labor, made up of the predominantly black population, defined the color line of status and economics for Birmingham for over 100 years.

Freedom can’t wait.  Carolyn McKinstry still shares her lessons of freedom to anyone who will listen.  Only weeks from participating in the Children’s march, Carolyn was in the 16^th Baptist Church the day that church was bombed.  Just before the explosion, Carolyn answered the phone in the church office hearing the words, “three minutes” before a bomb ripped through the basement of the church killing four young girls, classmates of Carolyn.  Ms. McKinstry, speaking before our group in the sanctuary, provided a powerful testimony to the spirit and determination of the thousands of blacks who took on the city of Birmingham and its Jim Crow laws.  Police dogs, fire hoses, beatings, jail, or a bomb would not deter people like Carolyn, who continues to inspire and teach the lessons of freedom.

Birmingham owns up to its past.  The Civil Rights Institute, across the street from the church, is an excellent tribute to the movement.  It provides dramatic context to the events and people that focused worldwide attention on “Bombingham” in the spring of 1963.

Freedom can’t wait, a message delivered by Lonnie King on the campus outside Spellman, Morehouse, and Clark Colleges in Atlanta.  Lonnie King retold his story of organizing nearly 4000 college students for a march on the State Capitol in Atlanta, nearly 45 years ago.  His story echoed many stories we heard over the weekend.  Convincing blacks that “freedom can’t wait” was a constant battle.  Even Lonnie’s mother refused to identify the young man on TV as her own son, for fear of being fired by her white employer.

Freedom was not for those who waited in the “colored only” line at the beautiful Fox Theater in downtown Atlanta.  A few blocks away, freedom did not wait for the black neighborhood on Auburn Street.  The roots of change provided strong inspiration to a young Martin Luther King, Jr. who was born on Auburn Street, three blocks from Daddy King’s Ebeneezer Baptist Church.  Preachers and successful black businessmen in the area provided a supportive environment for the young King.  The Martin Luther King, Jr. Visitors center across the street from Martin and Coretta’s gravesite allowed us time for additional reflection on the short life of a true American hero.

Are we done waiting?  Can the lessons of Birmingham, Atlanta, and the civil rights movement be carried forward?  Yes…as long as there is hate in this country and around the world.  Yes…as long as there is a need for status, there will be attempts to keep others down.  Yes…as long as there is discrimination, racism, and social injustice, there is more to do.  Yesterday’s color line gives way to issues surrounding immigration, sexual preference, gender, religious intolerance, and racial profiling.  The face of hate may not be as vivid as a police dog attacking a young black student in Kelly Ingram Park.  The face of hate may not look like Birmingham Police Commissioner Bull Connor, Georgia Governor George Wallace, or the Ku Klux Klan.  The face of hate may be harder to see, which is why we all need to work harder to recognize and eliminate it….in ourselves and in others.   As educators or policy makers, we have a wonderful opportunity to teach the lessons of freedom.  Lonnie King told the story of the time he tried to persuade a reluctant MLK to march with him in Atlanta.  “You can’t lead from the back,” he told him.  Martin agreed. Martin marched and ended up in jail once again, like so many others before .  Freedom can’t wait.  Freedom then.  Freedom now.