Last week I was invited to attend the Martin Lutheran King, Jr. Day of Celebration in Lansing. It is the oldest and one of the largest events held to honor Dr. King each year. The program was terrific. The highlight for me was hearing Diane Nash speak. Ms. Nash was one of the lead organizers of the student wing of the Civil Rights Movement and was key in organizing both the Freedom Riders, who desegregated interstate travel, and the effort to integrate lunch counters in Nashville. She was doing that courageous work already in her early 20s.
It was an honor and privilege to hear Ms. Nash speak. She is now 87 and had to come out on stage in a wheelchair, and yet her voice, heart and mind are as strong as ever. At one point, she said that she wanted to speak to those of us who were not yet born during the Civil Rights Movement. She said that when she stood arm and arm with others facing the threat of violence and arrest, we were the ones they had in mind.
That was astonishing to hear — that someone was fighting for the well-being of people yet unborn! It is much the same as Jesus’ love for us. As you pray this week, as you decide where to raise your voice for justice and freedom, I encourage you to remember Diane Nash and her courageous companions as they followed the Spirit’s leading to work for justice and truth. I encourage you to do it for the ones who will come after us, whose names and faces we have yet to imagine.
+BJST