Jefferson Thomas, one of the "Little Rock Nine" students who in 1957 faced down a governor and hundreds of students angry over desegregation, spoke to Findlay High School on Wednesday as part of Black History Month.
You can read reporter Michelle Reiter's full story HERE and view video of Thomas' remarks HERE. To visit the Little Rock Nine Foundation's excellent Web site on promoting the ideals of justice and equal opportunity for all, click HERE.
A story excerpt that I would like to discuss on this blog:
Attending was not just a matter of taking a stand; it meant a chance at a better life.
A Findlay student asked Thomas how he deals with prejudice now, since he is no longer in the "extreme case" of Little Rock in 1957.
Thomas said he was brought up to be respectful, and he is. "I learned all of the good things about how to treat others," he said.
Knowing how to treat other people, in his case, came partly from growing up in a Christian household. But the Little Rock incident taught him that human decency is not necessarily a byproduct of religion.
One of the people who treated him with the most kindness and respect was a white student who befriended Thomas in secret, and remained close to him throughout high school.
When the boy revealed that he was an atheist, Thomas was surprised.
"The white kid at Central that treated me as a human being didn't believe in God," he said. "But the Christians were beating us and kicking us trying to keep us out of school."
We often confuse being a Christian with being a superior moralist. We also think that only Christians know how to live in the world with decency.
The reality is that Christians easily become self-righteous and can commit grievous sins against God when we withhold justice and sustenance from others.
"The white kid at Central that treated me as a human being didn't believe in God. But the Christians were beating us and kicking us trying to keep us out of school."
Reflect on that for a moment. Then please share your thoughts below.
It's noteworthy that Thomas remains a believer who still finds strength in his faith. Which encourages me to believe that, in the end, human interepation can turn the loveliest theology dark, or the darkest theology light: it has more to do with who you are than the doctrine itself, or lack thereof. So great joy can be found in faith, or great sorrow; you can be a surly atheist or a generous atheist, it's entirely about who you are. The ancient, human desire to one-up your neighbor really does run wild when it comes to religion. If some people are getting to heaven and others aren't; if some people were chosen and others weren't; if some people are saints and others aren't; if some people are on the side of God, somebody else is not...And trouble of the cannon-shooting and cymbol-clashing variety seems pretty inevitable.
But, on a personal note, this is also why I do not believe in sweeping, myopic evangelism. Widespread pressure to "believe" can create masses of people who pretend to believe, but are really just conforming to a social structure that happens to include the framework of religion. That can make it extremely easy to turn religion into an engine for social control rather than a resource for spiritual growth and enrichment. This is what has not only happened in the American South, but just about everywhere else on the planet at some time. Atheism would be a countercultural breath of fresh air that would give you the freedom to follow your conscience rather than someone else's doctrine.
Posted by: Michelle | February 04, 2010 at 04:29 PM
Amen.
Posted by: Megan | February 05, 2010 at 04:05 PM
Well said Michelle.
Posted by: Sav | February 10, 2010 at 12:17 PM
Michelle's right as is the blog post. When one looks at history, it's quite easy to make a convincing argument that organized religion, not spirituality, has done much more harm than good for humanity. "I reject any religions doctrine than does not appeal to reason and is in conflict with morality," Gandhi.
Posted by: mr loser | February 12, 2010 at 11:35 PM
We must understand that it’s the way one is brought up. To have respect for others , many are taught to respect our elders, and not others. I believe this is still a problem, however maybe getting worse; may kids don’t even respect their parents let alone anyone else.
Posted by: angel 19 | February 16, 2010 at 09:24 AM
I hope this comment does not tear down Christians. To be christian is to be Christ-like, and Christ was not discriminatory. Just because someone calls themselves a christian doesn't mean they are. I'm a christian but don't believe in the same traditions as a catholic or a pentecostal. I don't like how people categorize these different religions as all "christian". If someone or some group is not trying to live there life Christ-like can not call themselves christian, and discriminating against black people is not Christ-like.
Posted by: Leslie | February 28, 2010 at 09:31 PM
This story is very moving, it is just nice to know that there are good people out there you just have to know where to look.
Posted by: concerned citizen | March 15, 2010 at 08:29 PM