by James Melson | May 14, 2016 | 2016, Weekly Reflection
A Burning bus in Anniston, AL is one of the iconic images of the civil rights movement. On May 14, 1961 a Freedom Rider bus was intentionally disabled and burned. The Freedom Riders struggled to get off the bus before it exploded. A young girl who was the daughter of...
by James Melson | May 7, 2016 | 2016, Weekly Reflection
53 years ago this week, thousands of school age children joined the non-violent direct action of the civil rights campaign in Birmingham, AL. May 2-5 became known as the Children’s Crusade. The children were arrested along with other protestors. When the jails...
by James Melson | Apr 18, 2016 | 2016, Weekly Reflection
Unlike most years, tax day is April 18 in 2016. Why did we get three extra days to file this year? The answer is that Friday was the Emancipation Day holiday in the District of Columbia. On Saturday there was the annual Emancipation Day parade and fireworks in...
by James Melson | Apr 5, 2016 | 2016, Weekly Reflection
April 4th was the 48th Anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. He was in Memphis to support sanitation workers protesting for fair treatment and increased wages. Watch the video below to learn more about the final days of Dr. King’s life and...
by James Melson | Mar 24, 2016 | 2016, Weekly Reflection
As we remember the suffering and death of Jesus during Holy Week, we also remember the death of Viola Liuzzo on March 25, 1965. She was killed by the Ku Klux Klan as she helped marchers returning from the Selma to Montgomery march. She was the only white woman to be...
by James Melson | Mar 21, 2016 | 2016, Weekly Reflection
This video excerpt from “Eyes on the Prize” summarizes the three Selma marches including President Johnson’s famous use of the phrase “we shall overcome” during an address to Congress. On this Monday in Holy Week, let us remember the...
