On condition that it’s college trip week and we’re celebrating Presidents Day, I believed I’d share what I realized from my daughter.
Historical past isn’t just a sequence of occasions; it’s a residing legacy formed by the braveness of those that dared to do what is correct, even within the face of uncertainty. My daughter wrote an essay when she was making use of to ninth grade at a non-public college. Though the essay was solely three paragraphs lengthy, I discovered it to be fairly profound.
We had been to Gettysburg on trip and had simply taken a non-public tour of the White Home — a construction constructed partly by enslaved folks — the week earlier than Barack Obama was to be inaugurated. Whereas in Washington, D.C., we visited a number of historic landmarks, together with the Lincoln Memorial.
The essence of her essay was as follows:
As President Lincoln mirrored on the lives misplaced at Gettysburg, he had no means of understanding that someday there could be a memorial in his honor within the nation’s capital. He may by no means have imagined that from its steps, a Black minister — himself a descendant of slaves — would ship one of the crucial well-known speeches in American historical past: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream.” Years later, from that very same memorial, Barack Obama, the primary Black president of the US, would additionally ship a speech.
The Lincoln Memorial grew to become greater than a monument; it grew to become a stage for justice. Marian Anderson, as soon as barred from singing at Structure Corridor due to her race, carried out there in 1939 earlier than an viewers of 75,000. Oprah Winfrey, one of many richest and most influential Black girls on the planet, spoke from its steps. Coretta Scott King, Andrew Younger, Rev. John Lewis, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Maya Angelou, and even Stevie Surprise all spoke earlier than the Lincoln Memorial, utilizing their voices to encourage change. One of the important gatherings in American historical past — the Million Man March — passed off there, as tons of of 1000’s of Black males assembled to demand justice and unity.
Within the spirit of Lincoln, and King, when you do the suitable factor immediately, you don’t have any concept of the long run affect which could prolong for a number of generations.
Lincoln’s Legacy and the Energy of Ethical Conviction
Someday, I observed one thing on my daughter’s bed room wall. It was a prayer from Lincoln:
“I’ve been pushed many instances upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My very own knowledge, and that of all about me, appeared inadequate for that day.”
At that second, I knew she acquired it. When confronted with tough selections, there is just one place or individual to go to.
Like many presidents, Lincoln carried the immense burden of sending women and men into battle. For him, this weight was even heavier as he grappled with the ethical and human toll of the Civil Struggle. In moments of reflection — comparable to after the devastating losses at Gettysburg — he couldn’t have foreseen the total extent of his legacy. He didn’t know that his management would reshape the ethical cloth of the nation, paving the best way for a future the place his beliefs of justice and equality would proceed to encourage.
Practically a century after Lincoln’s time, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, invoking the president’s imaginative and prescient in his name for civil rights. A long time later, the election of Barack Obama symbolized the progress that Lincoln and King had fought for, proving that change, although usually gradual, is at all times attainable. Every of those moments in historical past is a hyperlink in a series of progress, every hyperlink solid by the sacrifices of those that got here earlier than.
The Ripple Impact of Doing What’s Proper
Historical past teaches us that actions taken within the pursuit of justice have penalties far past what anyone individual can predict. Lincoln couldn’t have foreseen that his combat to protect the Union and finish slavery would result in a day when a Black president would stand in entrance of his memorial. Dr. King didn’t reside to see his dream realized, but his phrases continued to encourage generations lengthy after his dying. Barack Obama, standing on the identical steps the place King as soon as spoke, acknowledged that he was solely there due to those that had come earlier than him.
The lives misplaced within the Civil Struggle, the marches for justice, the voices raised in protest — all had been a part of a larger motion towards equality. Their sacrifices remind us that doing what is correct isn’t in useless, even when the trail ahead is unclear. Braveness within the face of uncertainty creates ripples that may form historical past for generations to come back. I can’t assist however assume the lesson my daughter realized then has impressed her to combat for well being care fairness and her actions will have an effect properly into the long run.
From Marian Anderson breaking racial boundaries in 1939 to Dr. King inspiring tens of millions in 1963 and trendy activists persevering with the combat for justice immediately, the Lincoln Memorial stands as a monument to progress, resilience, and hope. It’s proof that historical past isn’t just concerning the previous — it’s a residing legacy that continues to unfold.
Would Lincoln have ever imagined the affect of his selections? Maybe not. However that’s the nature of justice: While you stand for what is correct, you could not see the fruits of your labor, however the world shall be higher due to it.
Ed Gaskin is Govt Director of Better Grove Corridor Most important Streets and founding father of Sunday Celebrations.
