The Arc of The Moral Universe

Something is happening in America right now. People are marching in the streets. Americans of all creeds, colors, and political persuasions  agree that there is something wrong with the way Black men are dying at the hands of those that are sworn to protect us. Americans are angry, confused, disgusted, flabbergasted, that prosecutors refuse to prosecute, grand juries decline to indict, and perpetrators are allowed to walk when Black men and boys are being killed.

But, are we witnessing a series of “protests” or a “movement”? 

I fear that our attention span will not last long enough to effect the fundamental changes that are needed to make a real difference. I yearn for the charismatic leader that can articulate the righteous anger of the people in the streets. Do we have someone that can envision tangible, achievable goals and devise a coherent strategy and effective tactics that would utilize every available resource?

A “protest” is a spontaneous expression of disagreement. A “movement” is a coordinated series of events designed to achieve a specific goal. A “movement” to achieve significant social change requires skilled leadership, organization, dedicated people committed to the cause, money, coordination, patience, strategy, effective tactics, and martyrs.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott is considered by many to be the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement. It began on December 1, 1955 and lasted more than a year, until December 20, 1955. The Civil Rights Act was signed nine years later, in 1964. The Voting Rights Act was not signed until 1965.

Four score and seven years (87) would pass from the date of the Declaration of Independence and the day that Abraham Lincoln would declare “A new birth of freedom” in the Gettysburg Address.

The Women’s Suffrage Movement began in 1869. The 19^th amendment to the constitution giving women the right to vote would not be ratified until 1920, fifty one years later.

Social change takes time and commitment.

Racial prejudices are the root cause of recent events that have resulted in the highly publicized deaths of Black men and boys in Florida, New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Arizona. They are not isolated incidents. Black men are killed and abused by police all over America daily, and until the recent media firestorm, no one thought it was important enough to count how many were being killed.

Since before our country’s birth Black men have been the objects of fear and loathing. We have been denied equal opportunities in the attainment of anything of value, and our lives have always been valued in economic terms if they were valued at all.

Nevertheless, our nation is remarkably better than it was when my great grandmother was a slave. I had many more opportunities to achieve and excel than my mother did. My daughter has seen very little of the racial prejudice that I did. Her educational and career opportunities have been far better than my own.

There is a significant difference in the racial attitudes, fears, and prejudices of America’s younger generations when compared to those age fifty and older. That is our reason to hope. It is unlikely that the current protests will develop into the type of “movement” that has created significant social change in our country’s past. The news cycles are too short. The next crisis will push this from the headlines, and who wants to march in the streets if it’s not going to be on television?

But, Sam Cooke was right. A Change is Gonna Come.

On March 25, 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Alabama State Capital. As he looked out on Dexter Avenue, he could see that the wide avenue was packed with people. Many of them had been with him four days earlier in Selma, Alabama when they had begun their march from Selma to Montgomery in support of the Voting Rights Act that was pending in the US Congress. If he looked to his left he would see his own Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

Dr. King would deliver one of his most memorable speeches on that day, and his conclusion would include these words;

“I know you are asking today, “How long will it take?” I come to say to you this afternoon however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because truth pressed to earth will rise again.

How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever.

How long? Not long. Because you will reap what you sow.

How long? Not long. Because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice”…