DID THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT EVEN WORK?
Posted by Martin Abankwa on Wednesday, October 13, 2010
I am utterly shocked. Or am I just naive?
On January 15, 2011, "The Mountain Top" will premiere in theaters to teach young teens and their families, as well as caring community members about the Civil Rights Movement in a shocking and emotional way. It will remind us how far we've come, and where we've yet to go. It will bring back the memory of two men who died in their 30s...their 30s!! fighting for our equality. The men and women who fought and died for this were living in a time when war was not in Afghanistan, but in their own homes! Because of their bravery and selfless acts, we now have the freedom to love our fellow man, black or white.
My shock? That many people who I looked up to...educated people...when asked to donate a ticket to a student to see the film, or when asked to come and join the event, replied with, "I have something else to do" or "I don't know if I can fit in it to my schedule."
These people DIED so that we could do simple things like watch a movie together in the same theater, ride the same bus, use the same restroom and get human respect.
I guess we really do take these little things for granted.
Well, they're not little. And neither is an entire generation of children who, by now, do not even have parents old enough to remember first-hand what the Civil Rights Movement involved. Soon, it will be forgotten, and with that, the lessons we learned to tolerate and love.
So don't tell me you can't come because you have something against me, or the person who bought a ticket before you, or the person who told you it wasn't the "hip" thing to do. Don't tell me you can't buy a ticket for a student because you have to take your kids to soccer that day or your sitter canceled. Don't tell me this event is not worth your time. Because it was worth the lives of many young people just like you.
So come. Join us. Do something good. Or donate and send a child in your place. Is making excuses really easier than that?
On January 15, 2011, "The Mountain Top" will premiere in theaters to teach young teens and their families, as well as caring community members about the Civil Rights Movement in a shocking and emotional way. It will remind us how far we've come, and where we've yet to go. It will bring back the memory of two men who died in their 30s...their 30s!! fighting for our equality. The men and women who fought and died for this were living in a time when war was not in Afghanistan, but in their own homes! Because of their bravery and selfless acts, we now have the freedom to love our fellow man, black or white.
My shock? That many people who I looked up to...educated people...when asked to donate a ticket to a student to see the film, or when asked to come and join the event, replied with, "I have something else to do" or "I don't know if I can fit in it to my schedule."
These people DIED so that we could do simple things like watch a movie together in the same theater, ride the same bus, use the same restroom and get human respect.
I guess we really do take these little things for granted.
Well, they're not little. And neither is an entire generation of children who, by now, do not even have parents old enough to remember first-hand what the Civil Rights Movement involved. Soon, it will be forgotten, and with that, the lessons we learned to tolerate and love.
So don't tell me you can't come because you have something against me, or the person who bought a ticket before you, or the person who told you it wasn't the "hip" thing to do. Don't tell me you can't buy a ticket for a student because you have to take your kids to soccer that day or your sitter canceled. Don't tell me this event is not worth your time. Because it was worth the lives of many young people just like you.
So come. Join us. Do something good. Or donate and send a child in your place. Is making excuses really easier than that?