I'll never forget April 4, 1968. My class was on a field trip to a nature center, enjoying a Chicago early spring day. As we boarded the bus, our teacher, Mr. Smith got the news. His face crumpled before us, his voice thick with grief, as he told us that Dr. King had been killed. We sobbed, fifth graders holding onto each other, and stumbled into our family homes.
My parents were sad and angry, and I was in shock. As our south side neighborhood exploded into rage, I hid under my bed from flying bullets, thinking, feeling that I was called to be a drum major for peace.
Dr. King had preached a sermon that February, in which he said,
"Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice, say that I was a drum major for peace, I was a drum major for righteousness, and all the other shallow things will not matter."
This is our calling, family.. Doesn't your heart yearn for a just world, a peace-filled world, a safe and generous and just world? Building a just society starts with us! There is enough pain and heart-break to go around. Yet even as we grieve, or fight tears of anger and frustration, there is urgent work to do. We are in a state of emergency, and the question of who we will be as a nation that shapes the world is a critical one. Which levers we pull at the polls matter. The conversations we have with our neighbors matter. What we teach our children matters. How we worship matters, and how we read holy texts matters, too.
So, last Sunday was Trans Day of Visibility AND it was Easter Sunday. Look at how we were able to honor both days and honor all the Holy people in my sermon in Zayn's prayer and in the music.
At our April Conference: Freedom Rising: You. Move. The World, we will gather with acclaimed thought leaders, prophets and organizers who understand the urgency of now. We will make strategies to build the world about which we dream; we'll analyze the intersections of issues and load into campaigns to save our democracy. We will also spend some time tending to ourselves because radical self-love is urgent, too. We are the ones we've been waiting for, and the time is now to make our democracy work.
Come this Sunday, we will honor our Trans siblings once again with a sermon by Tiq Milan and with great music to inspire our movement. And tonight, at Brooklyn Art Haus, our own Genesis Be has curated the most beautiful art exhibit, that will make you dream of freedom. Drop in from 6p-9p if you can.
Sending SO much love. I am so glad we are in this together.
Jacqui
I remember that day well. The horror felt after hearing his earlier speech in which he said, "I may not get there with you..." but his spirit, his legacy is one for the ages. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.