Dropping Off My Ballot
Voting in Virginia was easy this year. For the first time, early voting through mail in, drop off, and in person voting was available to all registered voters. I dropped off my ballot on October 21 and found the process to be quick and safe. Yet even though voting was so easy for me, I need to remember the great cost of casting a ballot paid by thousands of people over the years. In particular, I want to lift up three people who lost their lives 55 years ago during the Selma campaign for voting rights. This happened during my lifetime, so it is not “ancient” history. The most famous part of the campaign was the Selma to Montgomery march. The idea for the march was in response to the killing of an unarmed black young man by an Alabama State Trooper. Jimmie Lee Jackson was active in registering black voters and was participating in a peaceful demonstration when state troopers violently broke up the demonstration. One trooper shot Jimmie Lee as he tried to protect his mother and grandfather from being beaten. His picture and a marker in his memory are posted below:
The Rev. James Reeb was a Unitarian pastor who came to Selma in response to Dr. King’s appeal for religious leaders to support the Selma to Montgomery march after the first attempt to march was brutally stopped by law enforcement on what became known as “Bloody Sunday.” Hundreds of religious leaders of different racial and denominational backgrounds came to Selma. While waiting for the march, James Reeb and two other Unitarian pastors were beaten by local white men. A few days later, James Reeb died from a massive head injury. His picture and a marker in his memory are posted below:
Not everyone who responded to Dr. King’s call to come to Selma was a professional religious leader. Viola Liuzzo, a mother of five young children from Detroit, was a person of faith committed to racial justice. She volunteered to drive marchers back to Montgomery after the long trek to Selma. On the way, she was murdered when a car with four KKK members shot into her vehicle. Her picture and a marker in her memory are posted below:
For many of us the act of voting has never been easier although voter suppression is still a reality for others, especially among people of color. On this momentous election week, we need to remember the cost paid by people committed to faith and justice. The three martyrs mentioned above represent thousands who resisted racial injustice and voter suppression throughout our nation’s history. Let us give thanks for this great cloud of witnesses and share their commitment in the days ahead.