The Little Rock Nine and Ernest Green

Today I got on the treadmill to use some of my time off to get in shape. My treadmill has a tv on it and that not only makes exercise more interesting, but also means I should be a lot thinner than I am. Regardless, I found a station that had a Martin Luther King Day inspired message. The show documented examples of non-violent protests, the Greensboro Sit-ins, and the bus boycotts that took place in the 1960s in our very own United States.

Though I always appreciate these types of programs, I was especially touched by the Little Rock Nine discussion - the nine African-American students that struggled for integration into Little Rock Central high school in 1957 amongst riots and ultimately police intervention.

One of the nine, Ernest Green, was the first black to graduate from the Little Rock Central High School. No one clapped when he walked across the stage, but he was proud that he had accomplished his goal despite the challenges.

I first heard about the Ernest Green story back in college when I student taught 7th graders in a junior high school in Orem, Utah. That semester we talked about racism, slavery and other similar issues of human rights. It was, after all, a history class. I showed the students the movie - The Ernest Green Story - and we probably had one of the best classroom experiences of that entire semester. Most of them had no idea how segregation and racism actually played out in day-to-day life. They were appalled and I was grateful for the impression this movie left on them. Many normally disrupted students cried and others seemed to be overcome with gratitude that they had never been treated that way and no one they knew was being treated that way in our day and time.

I only hope that we continue to remember these types of moments in history. They must be remembered so as not to repeat them. I saw a movie in December called The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and it was a movie of similar impact, but was focused on the Nazi concentration camps. It showed the very subtle changes that took place among the people. Most interesting was the scene were the tutor tried to ingrain the idea of a superior race into the children he was teaching. It was all so subtle, but it showed how influential education and unique circumstances seemed to play tricks on the mind. Most of us now look at that time of horror with...horror.

The real challenge then is to ensure that we don't make similar mistakes through subtle acceptance of how we treat others or what we accept as "ok" in our respective cultures. Historically, it appears that normal and good people can become not so good if swept into small thinking, hope from the wrong source, and a willingness to follow the crowd without much thought where the crowd is going. There are still many prejudices and horrible events taking place in the world which means that large groups of human beings do still fall prey to the not so good approach and it would be best to always be on our guard.

I will admit to having tears in my eyes through much of the show today. There were so many people that were grounded, followed what was right and were willing to give their lives for their people, their freedom, their rights, and their posterity.

Could I do that? I do not know and yet I know I can start with small things. Practice, after all, prepares you for the real deal whatever the real deal is for each of us.

So, kudos for all those in history that have had significant influence on a friend, a family, a community, a church group, a school, a nation or a world. I think this covers us all, but hopefully each of us can widen our circle a little bit more. As an old children's song from church states:

"I want to be kind to everyone, for that is right you see. But, I say to myself, remember this...kindness begins with me."


Photo: Ernest Green today - a successful business man in the Washington, DC area. When I listened to him speak of his experiences today I realized that he reminds me of Doctor Benjamin Carson, a world famous brain surgeon at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Carson is another amazing person that would be worth finding out a little more about because of his commitment to God, family and excellence.





More info on The Ernest Green Story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ernest_Green_Story

Hate and Prejudice - it can go both ways, unfortunately

A friend sent me a news article about some elementary children in Rexburg, Idaho that were chanting something about killing President Obama. Another person, in a southern state, talked about removing her children from school for the day because of racial slurs against white children after the elections. People voting "No" on proposition 8 in California have produced multiple protests across the country accompanied with stories of hate crimes/nuisances. People that voted "Yes" have posted blogs, news articles and Facebook status remarks with comments downgrading the gay communities desire to have marriage rights. Of course, these are just representative examples.

It is interesting to watch the strong feelings on all sides. It is really interesting to see that all sides have developed prejudices and very strong reactions when greeted with opposing views or cultures.

My point is that sometimes we, as human beings, can become so self-righteous in our opinions and desires that we can individually, and collectively, end up treating, or reacting to, someone wrongly in the same way we perceive them to be wronging us. Does that make sense?

Personally, I believe that no matter who you are it is wrong to shout out the death of someone leading the country. Talk about creating division and chaos. It is wrong to persecute someone for their skin tone, no matter how light or dark. After all, who got a choice in their skin color? (I personally still wish I was tanner) I believe that no matter what your gender orientation, race, or religious beliefs – it is not ok to persecute another for their choices. I may not agree with the choice. I may be adamant in supporting a cause other than your own. But, going the route of personal attacks can lead to a lot of hate, mis-information and the inability to work toward solutions that work for all. Of course, if someone is blatantly breaking a law and harming others…that is another issue. (I am a Mormon and we went through quite a bit of persecution in our past – it went beyond belief attacks into law breaking)

Right now I haven't seen very many good examples of how to deal with any of the hot topics facing our national issues. However, I do know that applying principles of effective dispute resolution and the "what would Jesus do?" principles would be very applicable. When it comes to Christ, I think He would very strongly present the truth as truth, but wouldn't personally attack individuals in the way that most of us do today.

Perhaps it might be a good time to turn back to these principles and take a few lessons. It would probably melt down barriers that have formed on all sides and come to some workable solutions.

Unfortunately, once any issue becomes political it is rare that the solution will be based upon anything to do with truth, love, or perspective. But, that shouldn't prevent any of us from saying our piece. That's how blogs came about, right?

Ok, I'm done venting.

And I make an end….at least for this moment.

Confession and Memory Lane - Pride and Prejudice

Ok, so, this is a confession and a trip down memory lane. Oh, and this is a confession from a Mormon, but the term is used loosely and not religiously.

Yesterday I was at Costco and went to the aisle that I frequent only every six months. It's the one in the middle that has all the kids books, novels, movies, DVDs, etc. I'm not a shopper, but for some reason I spend about 30 minutes in this aisle every time. As I make my way around the circle I keep adding, and then subtracting, items from the cart. I'll keep finding something better or I'll find the CD version of the book and have to decide which one is either cheaper (book) or more practical for my life in traffic (CD).

Either way, yesterday was one of those very expensive days. I bought the C.S. Lewis book collection, the new Ken Follett book (World Without End), a yoga/pilates DVD set, Atonement, John Adams, Anne of Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice. What? The "what?" is for the last line. I don't know what got into me, but I had the sudden need to own the two movies that all of my sisters and friends love - Anne of Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice.

A few years ago one of my roommates got in a car accident and was at home for a while before returning to work. She watched Pride and Prejudice all the time and often asked me to watch it with her. I always declined because I really wasn't interested in the "people dressed like that" and "talked like that." Prejudice from Rebecca? Anyway, a couple of years ago, my brother and his wife lived with me and encouraged me to watch the series with them. I remember thinking that I should be able to handle it if my brother enjoyed it. Long story short...we stayed up all night so we could finish the entire 6 hours. I really liked it, but never figured I'd watch it again.

So, after having an extremely productive day on Saturday, I decided to pop in the DVD around 6 p.m. and as was expected, I watched the entire thing. I loved it! Perhaps I'm just socially delayed, but I'm understanding these movies a little more each time and the outfits didn't bug me as much. It's amazing how much they still do relate to our society even though those moments of pride and those moments of prejudice may manifest themselves in other ways. We place so many limitations on ourselves.

I don't see myself becoming too enthralled with the array of movies that depict these past times, but I will most likely be open to one that I would have shunned in times past. After all, I did read "The Pillar of the Earth" by Ken Follett recently and it's about knights, monks, and castles. Soooo not what I'm interested in.

Just for memory sake, I'm going to throw in a photo of the "Victorian Club" that was formed by my sisters and our friend Marcia way back in the 1980s. We had a few little gatherings, but I couldn't tell you what they consisted of because it wasn't quite my thing. In actuality, there were probably 1-2 meetings and the rest of the time it was primarily everyone looking at the Victorian catalog to find refined ways to decorate their bedrooms.

Ok, I'm the one that is not wearing any lace and didn't prepare a proper hair do.