The civil rights generation that made history on Aug. 28 passes the baton to the next generation
At that historic gathering, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” And it was there that John Lewis, the youngest person to speak that day, declared, “We do not want our freedom gradually, but we want to be free now!”
Lewis, who passed away July 17, had been the final surviving member of the “Big Six” leaders of civil rights organizations who spoke at and organized the March on Washington. But he was not the last of that heroic generation that moved America closer to its stated ideals. Many of them still walk among us. And they have something to say.
“Fulfilling our Obligations, and Passing the Torch” is a 12-page statement from movement veterans expressing triumph about the past, woe about the present and optimism about the future in the hands of the next generation. They feel a sense of duty to safeguard their legacy while pledging allegiance to the youth-propelled movements that are picking up some old battles reignited by a nation sliding backwards.
“Our numbers are diminishing. Those of us who remain feel a heavy burden of moral responsibility,” write the 10 signatories: Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, Xernona Clayton, Courtland Cox, Clarence B. Jones, Bernard Lafayette Jr., James M. Lawson Jr., Janet Moses, Robert Moses and Andrew Young. “We affirm the direct lineage from the Black Freedom Movement of the 20th century, in which we were immersed, and the Black Lives Matter Movement and renewed Poor People’s Campaign of the 21st century which we profoundly admire, and wholeheartedly endorse and support.”
Their letter touches on the fight to increase the minimum wage, combat climate change and reduce gun violence, which are the focus of the March for Our Lives movement. And they issue a clarion call to Americans to vote. “Every American has a sacred obligation to honor the memory of countless martyrs who died to protect our voting rights. Citizenship means nothing if we abandon our collective power of the ballot,” the signers wrote. “In this moment of national emergency, when our democracy is threatened as never before since the end of Reconstruction and the entrenchment of Jim Crow terror throughout the South, we call on all qualified Americans to exercise your power as citizens to register and vote.”
The statement, which you can read in full to the left, ends in a touching passing of the baton in honor of King’s memory from the civil rights generation to the leaders already marching in their footsteps. “With admiration and gratitude, we pass his torch to the activist youth in the Black Lives Matter, March for our Lives, and climate justice movements,” the signatories write. “We know that their marvelous new nonviolent militancy will lead us to the Promised Land. Our obligation on this day is to follow their leadership.” Beautiful words on a sacred day.
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