The Journey Inward

It's nearly midnight and I'm just getting home from an amazing four day getaway to Atlanta, GA that was everything I needed.  Today, on our last afternoon, we went to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.  It was an emotional 2.5 hours as we moved from exhibit to exhibit, reading, viewing, and even sitting at a simulated Woolworth's counter with our eyes closed, headphones booming angry voices and violent sounds into our ears.  My tears flowed as I spent time with atrocity after atrocity committed by this country upon its own people.  Sometimes the shame and sadness burned so hot that I wanted to crawl out of my skin.  Other times I couldn't believe how little things have changed in all these decades and certainly, how few reparations have been made.  

But I was also inspired by the emboldened efforts of the Freedom Riders and the thousands of others who risked and gave their lives for the Civil Rights cause, including our devoted and committed leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  It made me hopeful that with continued education, conversation, advocation, organization, vocalization, and passion we can make a difference in our nation as we move forward with accountability.  

The United States of America is indeed a great nation, but we can do better.  We do not make America great again by returning to a time when humans were treated as anything but, and opportunity and prosperity were reserved for a select few.  When people are marginalized rather than recognized for their unique contributions, when they are oppressed, denied equality and deemed less than, that is not the mark of a great nation.

The National Center for Civil and Human Rights sits across the green from the Coca Cola Experience, which had a line to get in.  As is often the case, the easy grab gets the attention.  But the people who moved with me through this experience, the people who whispered, sniffled and held hands with loved ones, can't ever be the same.  Surely they invested time in thought, reflection, grief, disbelief, discomfort, pain and anger. These exhibits must have impacted them, inspired them, and encouraged them to fight. I know it moved me in all these ways. 

We are in an important place in our nation's history right now.  As individual citizens, we have the ability to make this nation better for all who live here.  We can do this in our own daily lives and we can do it by working together as part of local, national and global communities who stand for peace and justice and human rights.  We can build something new together with compassion, empathy, understanding, fairness, equality, acceptance, humanity and love.  We can make America great like it's never been before.