“In the name of God…what is happening in America?”
Many United States citizens may be asking this question right now. This quote came to my mind as I decided to write a blog in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday this year. I must have heard that quote hundreds of times over more than 30 years as I repeatedly showed my university students the segment of the Eyes on the Prize documentary called, “Fighting Back: 1957-1962.” Here is the whole quote:
“In the name of God who we all revere, in the name of liberty we hold so dear, in the name of decency which we all cherish, what is happening in America?”
The speaker, Governor Orval Faubus, is actually referring to the decision of President Dwight Eisenhower to send in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States to protect the “Little Rock Nine” (9 Black students) as they entered Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Earlier, Governor Faubus had first surrounded the high school with the Arkansas National Guard to block the Black students from entry. He then removed the National Guard when the courts ordered him to do so. When the Black students attempted entry to the building again, there was an angry mob outside. The students had only the minimal protection of local police, who soon found that they could not hold the mob back any longer. The decision was made to rush the Black students out of the building in unmarked cars in fear for their lives. Only when the 101st Airborne Division arrived, and then remained in the school to protect the Black students, was the intended racial integration accomplished. For a while, and at great personal cost to the Little Rock Nine.
I showed this segment of Eyes on the Prize to my students over more than 30 years for a number of reasons. I wanted them to see the documented history of the Civil Rights Movement as it really existed, because so many had been offered little or no understanding of that movement during their education. But, even more importantly, I wanted them to think critically about historical political conflict over human rights and to see the actions of so many brave people who stood up against racial oppression. Yes, Governor Faubus represented the vision of a segregated south. Many others did too. But a lot of determined individuals and groups from every walk of life did not let their dream of liberty and equality die. Ultimately, much good came about for many people. As Representative John Lewis later said, activists for racial equality were making “good trouble; necessary trouble.”
During this segment of Eyes on the Prize, someone asks, “Was this the start of a new Civil War?” It could have been, it might have come close, but the conflicts were resolved.
The Constitution held, the power of peaceful protest reverberated around the world, and the nation moved forward. Now, on Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, I see how complicated our commitment to constitutional rights and liberty and justice for all has become. Once again, we are seeing military presence in our cities. Once again, we are seeing violence and struggle.
We are in a different but intense struggle for democracy and for the upholding of our Constitution. The central issue this time is not school integration. Instead, the focus has been on immigrants who are undocumented and living in our nation. But the focus now appears to be expanding to the rights that have been guaranteed to all of us in the United States. The right to assembly and freedom of speech. The right to protest what we believe is wrong. The right to be informed by a free press. The right of our elected government officials to speak out and protect the citizens of their states. The right for all of us to see the faces and read the identification badges of men and women who stop our cars or seek to enter our homes or confront us in the street. The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The recent shooting death of Nicole Good in Minnesota has to be a wake-up call for all of us. Is the violent treatment of immigrants now spilling over into civil society and endangering citizens engaged in protest? As she tried to move her car, the gentle words she said to the ICE officer were “It’s OK dude, I’m not mad at you.” I recognize there is a lot of dispute about what happened next. But cell phone videos have been analyzed carefully from different visual standpoints and are available to the public. * Nicole Good’s wheels were turning right and away from the ICE officers. The ICE official she was later accused of running over was clearly standing away from the side of the car as he shot and killed her. The words we heard directly after the shooting were “Fucking bitch.”
“In the name of God…what is happening in America?”
We have a lot of problems to solve in the United States: among them are hunger, poverty, homelessness, and lack of widespread affordable health care. As citizens, we have a sacred responsibility to try to solve these problems as well as we can. The words of Louis Brandeis ring out loud and clear on the wall of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia;
“The only title in our democracy superior to that of president is the title citizen.”
We are not just Republicans and Democrats! We are citizens who should be united in common purpose. Our most important task at this time is to think for ourselves, and stand up against political forces that seek to divide us. We need to interrupt the hate speech and dehumanizing talk that steers us toward scapegoating others. We must let the highest level of government know that we object to reference to entire groups of people as “garbage” and “rapists” and “animals” and “bloodthirsty criminals.” We must let the government know that we do not think that people who utilize their freedom of speech and who protest inhumane and violent treatment of others are “radical left thugs.” We are better than that! And we know our rights! We need to demand more integrity, honesty, compassion, and transparency from our government leaders.
I cannot tell you how many times people have asked me, at the end of my courses or presentations, what anyone could really do to change society. My answer has always been and still is the idea of Dr. Aaron Wildavsky**in his book “Speaking Truth to Power.” We can face our problems. And we can try to make them better problems by making them more worthy of our moral selves. We can hope that one day in the future we will be remembered as the brave and courageous citizens who truly, really preserved the greatness of this nation.
*New York Times Frame by Frame Analysis:
Wildavsky, A. (1979). SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER: THE ART AND CRAFT OF POLICY ANALYSIS. Boston, Little Brown and Company.
This blog is written by Beatrice Fennimore (Bz Fennimore) an educator and activist whose career has focused on child advocacy, public school equity, social justice, and the practice of anti-bias education.
https://www.bzfennimore.blog