The Morning after a history making democratic debate, I am overwhelmed with joy. I believe, hope, and pray that our darks days as a nation are behind us. Morning is bursting through, and we as a people can enjoy a brighter tomorrow. I believe the spirits of all the ancestors were present last night to witness this great occasion. I don’t believe they were disappointed. The entire building was electrofied. It was radiating with vibe of history’s past. It was highly diversified. From the door to the stage, people from all walks of life huddled into one place side-by-side to “be” apart of history. “I know you could feel!”
Yesterday as I looked back down the crossroads of time, reminiscent of how we got here.
I strolled through the dark days of the sixties from Selma to Montgomery, I ran across an unfamilar name of a fallen soldier.
I did not recognize this fallen Civil Rights activist. The first thing that came to mine was,
“Viola Liuzzo who?”
I began to think out loud, this does not sound like a black person’s name. Neither does this sound like a man’s name. No, this person seems to be a white woman. Do you mean a white woman is among those who gave their lives for Hillary and Obama to face off tonight in an equal forum???
You know my cultural heart rate was off the charts. My consciousness was tasered by this revelation. Ms Liuzzo was a 39 years old mother of five who was murdered by the KKK in 1965 after the march to Mongomery march in Alabama.
Ms Liuzzo got involved with the civil rights movement after seeing the horrible images of the aborted march at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. She is noted to have said, this struggle, “was everybody’s fight!”
Wow!
What a powerful statement!
A statement that is as relevent today as then.
Yes, today!
The Morning after our dreams were realized…
We have come a long way…
So I hope as we watched this historical debate last night we put this snapshot in time into perspective. Not only has it been a long time coming, but it came with a very high cost.
Whether you are black or white, male or female, young or old, rich or poor; we all must be concsious of the long hard blood stained road that we as a people have travelled to get her.
So I hope as you watched history being made last night right in front of our eyes with your family and friends, you take note.
That people like Viola Liuzzo (and many others who’s names are more familiar) made history in many years ago that has taken this long to be realized.
The struggle is not a black thing!
It’s not a white thing!
Not a brown, red, or yellow thing!
The struggle is a civil rights thing…
It’s a human rights thing…
So on the morning after witnessing history being made we must make a commitment, that we will do our part to live the dreams of all those who fought bled and died to see this snapshot in time become a video clip…
We must not forget!
We can not forget!
We will not forget!
Because as Ms Viola Liuzzo said, “this is everybody’s fight!”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_Liuzzo
Friday, February 1, 2008
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1 comment:
Thank you for a beautiful article about my mother Viola Gregg Liuzzo. Each time I hear of someone remembering her.....I am filled with emotion. My family has fought for many years to see that our mom is never forgotten......Thank you
Sally Liuzzo-Prado
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