Today, I find myself thinking about a conversation I had six years ago, when I had the honor of joining John Lewis in Selma for a tribute to “Bloody Sunday.”
I asked Chuck Neblett, one of the Freedom Singers, what made Dr. King so powerful. He told me Dr. King’s success was possible because of Emmet Till’s mother, Mamie Till.
Mrs. Till would not let her son’s brutal murder become a statistic. She allowed the press to publish photos of his open-casket funeral. Those gut-wrenchingly vivid images forced America to reckon with the brutality of Jim Crow. They were the spark that lit Dr. King’s beacon of freedom.
Many years later, when Dr. King gave his final speech in Memphis, he told the story of the Good Samaritan. The Good Samaritan was traveling along a dangerous road when he came upon a man who needed help.
He knew it might be a trap, but instead of asking, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?," he reversed the question:
“If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"
Dr. King’s words echo in our ears and hearts with uncomfortable relevance today. In real time, we’re watching the President of the United States justify the slaughter of an innocent wife and mother; watching masked agents of the state terrorize our immigrant neighbors and assault lawful protestors.
But take a second look. The spark of hope remains alive. The danger is real, yet Americans are choosing to protect one another. The fear is strong, yet the love is stronger.
Dr. King said that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. I believe that, too. And perhaps that arc is not quite as long as we once feared.
In the meantime, while we wait for the moral universe to catch up, I implore you not to lose faith in democracy, or in the goodness of others.
As the peddlers of hate are beginning to realize, love has got the numbers.
Gratefully yours,
Sean Casten
PAID FOR BY CASTEN FOR CONGRESS
Casten for Congress
P.O. Box 132
Downers Grove, IL 60515-0132
United States
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