The Civil war had been over for more than two months. Two days after Lee signed the document ofsurrender at Appomattox, Lincoln had been murdered. Many slaves for whom this bloody conflict had been fought did not know they were now free. Imagine their surprise when on June 19 1865, Union Army General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and told the slaves there that they were now free.
Freedom, however, does not just come with a declaration, but with hard work, and even harder is maintaining it. It is ironic that Juneteenth has been celebrated in Texas all these years before becoming a federal holiday. Even more ironic as Texas tries now to destroy the voting rights of minorities.
The attempt of Texas and other southern states to diminish, if not destroy hard won gains of the Civil Rights movement is unconscionable, to say the least. And to have the supreme Court gut voting rights legislation is equally so. The so-called Justices who have done this are little more than political hacks.
Prayer for the Day
Searching for the light, O God, often only e shadows appear,
Failing to do the good we mean to do, we acquiesce to evil;
Knowing we fall short of our goals and the promises we make,
We come to you in contrition and ask forgiveness.
Move us from hopelessness to determination
So we protect the most vulnerable among us.
We ask this in the name of the One who gives us hope,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
While realism cannot determine the goals of our faith, it must shape our strategy in movements of moral dissent.
- Rev. William Barber, activist from The Third Reconstruction
Remember we are not fighting for the freedom of the Negro alone but for the freedom of the human spirit, a larger freedom that encompasses all of mankind.
- Ella Baker, civil rights leader (1903-1986)
Alas to those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches,
Eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall;
Who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David play musical instruments,
Who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
But are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
Amos 6: 4-6