Robert Reich, one of the more public, progressive, pro-union voices, has been a source of hope for a long time. I have been especially grateful for him this year for his posts like "Ten Reasons for Modest Optimism" and statements that have become mantras to me: we are the leaders we've been waiting for; we can maintain decency in a time of monsters; courage is contagious...
I also feel connected to Michael Schwerner. Ever since I accidentally walked into a dusty storeroom in a house in the middle of Ohio--a house we would later live in--and found a picture of my fellow compatriot, Mahatma Gandhi, twinkling up at me. It was a picture of Gandhi on a certificate awarded to Michael Schwerner from his early years at CORE (The Council for Racial Equality). Michael "Mickey" Schwerner is, of course, one of the civil rights workers killed during the Freedom Summer of 1964 along with Chaney and Goodman in the case that garnered national attention and helped hasten the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Our house in Yellow Springs had belonged to Steven Schwerner, Michael's older brother and Dean of Antioch College who had moved away to Brooklyn to be closer to his grandkids. I kept finding traces of Michael Schwerner's presence in that house over the years and felt the jolt of his idealism every time.
So imagine my shock when Robert Reich mentioned that because he'd always been bullied for being short, in school he'd relied on kind older kids to protect him and one of those kids was "Mickey." Yes, Mickey Schwerner! He goes on to say that when he got to college and found out what had happened to Michael, he "began to see bullying on a larger scale" and credits this as the beginning of his insight into and involvement with social justice. It's amazing how just one well-lived life can ripple out across time and space and influence millions of others. I did not know that two people I thought of so highly were connected in such an immediate way. Rest in Power, Michael Schwerner.
Pic: The woods at the back of the house have begun their greening.
12 comments:
Oh wow, I love stories like this. The world is so big and yet so small. I love how interconnected we all are - scratch the surface and you can find degrees of separation.
Great.
Neat story about your old house.
Trees are connected, too. They communicate with each other and share resources through fungi growing on their roots. So, great matching of picture to messsage.
I truly believe in The Ripple Effect. Each person, each day can make a difference.
As June Jordan said, WE are the ones we have been waiting for.
That's just incredible. And wonderful.
Nice post! And I read the "10 reasons", thanks for sharing that.
Those trees.. so much green!
Life can be so beautiful sometimes...
Thanks!
I hadn't thought of that--or not consciously. Thank you, Steph!
I'll co-sign that, Nance.
And yes, June Jordan--another hero!
Thanks, Jeanie. I got goosebumps...
Thanks, Jenny. It's a bit dated, but he's a good resource if you're not following him already.
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