Even ageless lessons need to be re-learned periodically, or taught to some for a first time.
That’s especially the case when the subject is the incessant struggle to ensure basic human rights for all.
We believe metro Atlanta takes a second seat to no other place on this planet when it comes to our legacy forged in the foundry of the Civil Rights movement. Thanks to broad, deep relationships and hard-won mutual respect backed by a shared desire to do the right things on the right side of history, this region came through that tumultuous era even stronger and better prepared for coming opportunities. Not all were so blessed.
The world recognizes our work in this regard. That becomes immediately apparent when walking through exhibit rooms at The Center for Civil and Human Rights downtown. The strategies refined in large part by some of Atlanta’s greatest leaders were a vital factor in the American Civil Rights struggle.
And much as the likes of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. studied the tactics of global leaders such as Gandhi and applied that knowledge across the U.S. South, the world has likewise examined our experiences and is adapting them to international issues of human rights.
In a similar manner, we believe the Center’s curation of both history and the power of noble, freedom-broadening ideals of equality for all can still provide great benefit today.
How can that not be the case in a time and nation as angry and fearful as ours is today? We now willfully choose our own realities, truthful or otherwise. We segregate ourselves among kindred spirits, forsaking the wrenching, forceful debate of conflicting ideas that’s necessary for a free and diverse nation. We see those who disagree on matters trivial or important as enemies, not as fellow people of goodwill who simply believe differently. We’ve forgotten the counsel in the Book of Proverbs that, “It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.”
Our leaders have, far too often, fueled fires of division, and we have helped them fan the flames. Circumspection and moderation have fallen away before an onslaught of so-called leaders who gain points by insulting, shaming or vilifying both rivals and large groups of fellow human beings. Worse yet, we increasingly see no shame in behaving this way.
We have strayed far from the ancient ideal that we are each other’s keeper, united across sometimes-vast differences by a common humanity.
The recent, continuing struggles over religious liberty have unveiled the depth of fear and anger coursing through large portions of our society because of profound social changes driven in large part by the desire of LGBT citizens to live freely in the light of day and within legal acceptance.
The battles over this and other issues test where one person’s rights end and another’s begin. This is not a new struggle. From the U.S. Constitution’s venerable Bill of Rights, on through the Voting Rights Act and beyond, the majestic words of law bear witness to humankind’s perpetual struggle to adapt to circumstances of the day while reaching imperfectly toward guaranteeing the promises enshrined in The Declaration of Independence and elsewhere.
The future success of our Republic and its surrounding world, we believe require a knowledge of history and values such as those promoted by the Center for Civil and Human Rights. These principles – and the strife necessary to gain and sustain them — should be taught to our youth at every opportunity, through venues both formal and informal.
We owe our children and their future at least that much.
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