In Memory, In Movement
“Not Eden’s gate, but freedom lures us down a trail of skulls where men forever crush the dreamers, never the dream.” -Pauli Murray, Dark Testament
This nation turns once again to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His dream of racial equality, economic justice, and freedom for all seems more like national daydreaming and political slumbering. America takes two steps forward and falls innumerable steps backward. Nonetheless, this weekend we pause to ponder how far, how long, why not, and when.
As we lift King, let us not forget the women, matriarchs, foremothers, and activists who were “cooking with grease” long before he jumped into the civil rights frying pan. I am by no means attempting to relegate women’s work to the kitchen through use of the aforementioned metaphor. Countless women marched and beat the protest path. Any number also offered their homes as headquarters for meetings and strategizing sessions.
The following roll call underscores women from various educational, familial, social, geographical, and sexual backgrounds who were pivotal in setting the Civil Rights Movement stage for King. Many should have been center stage. However, sexism does not play fair nor desires to learn the rules of equality. While this is not an exhaustive account, it foregrounds both notable persons and those whom history tends to obscure. As we honor King, let us celebrate today and always:
There are women, who distributed flyers, organized, sang, marched, prayed, planned, and provided shelter, whose names will never be recounted in the annals of history.
However, we are because they were.
In the bible, the Gospel of Mark records Jesus saying, “Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her (14:9).” It is our herculean task to make history record and remember.
We remember. We remember what the women have done. We remember that they had to put the fight for equal rights on hold so to secure racial equality. We remember the patriarchy within the Civil Rights movement. Yet, women persisted. We remember. For in remembering their work, her work works its way into our individual motivation and still spurs national movement.
This we do in remembrance of her.
