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For most of us, there are moments in our lives when something happened that changed our lives forever. Moments like the time you realized that you were in love, when you received salvation, when you saw your child for the first time, you were in a march or had a conversation with someone which had a lasting impression and led you to a long lasting commitment.
I remember one of those times in my life. My parents owned a five-acre tobacco farm in rural Guilford County when I was born. When I was 8, we moved to a much larger farm as sharecroppers. After three years, my parents were able to purchase a 40-four acre farm. While it was larger than before, it was not large enough to sustain our family. So, as a teenager I would hire myself out to other farmers a few days each week when not working on our farm. At times, I worked for this nice white man. He paid more and gave snacks at break time. We laughed and had some things in common. We ate lunch in the kitchen, except the white people ate first while the Blacks waited and joked with each other outside under the trees. One day when I had a quiet moment to myself, I remember deciding that day that would not always be my way of life. I decided that day that life would be different for me and those around me. Of course, that day I went back to the fields as before. But I did not forgot that moment.
I have spent my life making a difference for myself, my family; but, more importantly for all of humanity. I think I have learned enough about the economic structure of this Country that I could be rich financially. Instead, I chose to be rich emotionally and spiritually. I have been blessed that family, teachers, friends, other loved ones and acquaintances deposited knowledge, love, empathy and direction to cause me to want to make a difference toward making this world more just. My father was the first that I remember teaching me the meaning of justice and fairness by teaching me that “you are not better than others, but they are also not better than you.” It was Christian faith and integrity that I saw in my parents and others that made a difference in my life. Proverbs 22:6 states: (NRSV) “Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.” If we are taught to do things that are unjust, we then have to be retaught or find that decisive moment when we need to move in different directions. We may need to retrain our children and grandchildren.
During these pandemic days, there have been events that have caused many people to think about their actions as well as how they act with and on behalf of others. I hope that this moment will not be like a person who has indigestion and takes an antacid that soon relieves it and they move on as if it never happened. It is my prayer and hope that many will experience a life changing moment, which will cause them to commit and/or re-commit their lives to justice for all. In order to do that, it may mean that we will have to seek new education, experiences and opportunities that take us in the directions that God wants us to go.