Here’s another hero blog. . .
I met some real live heroes yesterday. Right here in Nashville. And I was impressed.
Harold, a tall timid dignified man, stood and quietly told his story—a sad story of being spit on and cursed. It happened fifty years ago, but he recounted the events as if they happened yesterday. As he spoke, I had a hard time understanding why a mob of adults would threaten a six year old schoolboy. I couldn’t wrap my brain around the idea of men my age throwing rocks at a first grader and his rail-thin mother as they walked to school.
Barbara told similar stories from her first grade experience. But hers made us all laugh and cry. She could land a gig on Last Comic Standing. Barbara said that some people turned their dogs loose on her as she walked to school. She talked about the day “they” tried to burn her house down and the time “they” dynamited her uncle’s tool shed. Never said who “they” were. She ended her story talking about how her godly Dad prayed with her and read the Bible to her every night at bedtime. (The power of praying parents—someone should write a book about that.)
Harold, Barbara, and all the others spoke of strong families and stronger faith. They all talked about the role of the community and the church during those difficult days in Nashville fifty years ago.
The meeting was filled with laughter and tears, forgiveness and faith—but no self-pity and no anger. I was amazed that there was not a hint of bitterness or hatred in the room. I’m afraid that I would have been filled with both. But not these people, they were history-makers and heroes, not victims.
Their stories are a testimony to the wickedness of man and the grace of God.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget those ninety minutes at American Baptist College yesterday. The program was called: “Walking into History: 50 Years of Desegregation in Nashville.”
Here’s how the event brochure described it:
“On September 9, 1957, sixteen African-American children were officially enrolled in the first grade at six Nashville elementary schools that previously had admitted only white children. Thus began a long journey toward racial equality in the public schools of this city, after more than a century of legally and socially imposed segregation.”
Harold and Barbara were two of those sixteen pioneers. It was an honor and an eye-opener to hear their stories.
And, it is a privilege to be part of a church that is deeply committed to racial reconciliation.
Click HERE to read more about the “16 Little Pioneers” who changed public education in Nashville.