OIYC Alum Update
By Dan Ankenman
Last week, I had the incredible privilege of participating in a Civil Rights Study Tour with a group of students and faculty from BYU Law School. We had the honor of meeting many experts and leaders, including one of the original freedom riders Charles Person, and Myrna Jackson and Paulette Roby who peacefully marched in the 1963 Children’s Crusade in Birmingham. We also visited historic sites such as the bus stations where the Freedom Riders were brutalized in Aniston and Birmingham; the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma; the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham where Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley were killed by a bomb during Sunday services; and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery.
Visiting these sacred sites and meeting these inspiring leaders gave me a greater understanding of how profoundly these events have shaped our country. The horrific exploitation, violence, hate, terrorism, segregation, and denial of civil and human rights African Americans have endured throughout our nation’s history—along with their cascading effects and the hate and discrimination that still exist in our society today—is painful to remember. But ignoring our history and the problems it has created does nothing to solve them. We cannot move forward in a positive direction without fully acknowledging where we are and where we have been. I recognize that I cannot comprehend the full extent of the horrors slavery, segregation, and discrimination have caused so many of my sisters and brothers, but I believe it is my duty as a citizen and as a Christian to do my best to try.
There is so much we have to learn as a country, and I have to learn personally, to truly make the American dream a reality for all. But as the courageous leaders and participants in the Civil Rights Movement taught us, we cannot afford to be hopeless—we must face the future with optimism and faith. I echo Charles Person’s words: “I love America for what it is. But I love it even more for what it aspires to be.” I hope and pray that we will not shy away from our nation’s lofty ideals but will work harder to finally make them a reality for all.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/dankenman/posts/10217249582831512
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