Courageous Women

From the Jon S. Randal Peace Page:

For Women's History Month:

She never got to finish her journey that day. She was marching peacefully along with some 600 protesters for voting rights when policemen arrived with tear gas and billy clubs. The protesters would be beaten, and she would be left bloody and unconscious on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma.

Her name was Amelia Boynton, the date was March 7, 1965, and the incident on the bridge in Selma would draw national attention, eventually being called, "Bloody Sunday."

Boynton, a former teacher, had invited Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Selma. Dr. King and members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference would meet and set up headquarters at Boynton's Selma home, where they would plan the Selma to Montgomery March.

When they got on the bridge, she remembers the troopers brutally attacking them. "I felt a blow on my arm that could have injured me permanently had it been on my head," she would say. "Another blow by a trooper as I was gasping for breath knocked me to the ground and there I lay unconscious. Others told me that my attacker had called to another that he had the "damn leader." One of them shot tear gas all over me."

A newspaper photo of the middle-aged housewife, lying on the ground, left for dead, shocked the entire nation. Boynton also suffered throat burns from the effects of the tear gas. Bloody Sunday would prompt President Lyndon B. Johnson to sign the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965, with Boynton attending as the landmark event's guest of honor.

Boynton, who later would be referred to as Amelia Boynton Robinson, would continue being a voice for civil rights, touring the United States "to defend the rights of all humanity to progress — material, moral and intellectual."

She would remind younger people of the importance of history, saying, "It’s important that young people know about the struggles we faced to get to the point we are today. Only then will they appreciate the hard-won freedom of blacks in this country."

She added, "You can never know where you are going unless you know where you have been."

Her son, Bruce Boynton, who he himself had been arrested for trying to eat at a white lunch counter at a bus station, would say of his mother, “She’s done so many outstanding things that a lot of people don’t know."

Boynton was known by many as the “Matriarch of the Voting Rights Movement."

She was the first African-American woman to run on the Democratic ticket for a seat in Congress from Alabama. Although she didn’t win the election, she did garner 10 percent of the votes at a time when only 1 percent of the voting population was made up of African Americans.

She was a member of the brave Courageous Eight and one of the first African Americans registered to vote in Alabama.

She would be awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Medal of Freedom.

On August 26, 2015, Boynton Robinson would die at the age of 104.

But before her death, she was able to finish her journey across the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the Selma Voting Rights Movement 50th Anniversary Jubilee. In her wheelchair, she was accompanied by the first black President of the United States, Barack Obama, holding her hand.

Close friends and family would say, she died, harboring no animosity for anyone, not even those who might have hated her for the color of her skin.

She had said, "I was brought up by people who loved others. I love people. We had no animosity. We had no feeling that we hate anyone."

"Only until all human beings begin to recognize themselves as human beings will prejudice be gone forever," she said. "People ask me what race I am, but there is no such thing as race. I just answer: "I’m a member of the human race."

Austin area students stage walkouts in solidarity with Florida students calling for stricter gun laws

Today, on a cold, wet day in Austin, several hundred middle and high school students walked out of school during lunch hours and spoke out in solidarity with Florida students calling for stricter gun laws.  It's inspiring to see students using their First Amendment rights in this way.  Their strong statements and collective actions are making government leaders pay attention.

Here is an account from this afternoon's online Austin American-Statesman by writers Mary Huber and Melissa Taboada:

School officials now estimate that nearly 500 students at three Austin area school districts are participating in walkouts to show their solidarity with students in Florida demanding stricter gun laws.The Dripping Springs school district said more than 300 students walked off several of its campuses during lunch hour. At the Dripping Springs High School, they gathered in front of the flag pole outside and provided brief remarks, officials said.

"It is past time for elected officials to make a change and work diligently towards keeping the students of this country safe,” said Dripping Springs senior Meredith Anderson, one of the student walkout organizers. “No student in this country should have to fear for their life as they enter their school building. We hope to inspire elected officials to take an active stance on protecting our schools, and we hope to have our voices heard. This is a bipartisan issue that needs to be addressed fully and comprehensively to ensure the safety of this nation's children."

A walkout at Clint Small Middle School in Southwest Austin also started at lunch hour Wednesday afternoon. The school’s principal, Matthew Nelson, said in a letter to parents that additional police officers had been sent to the campus as more than 100 students left the school. The walkout is still ongoing. Nelson said the extra police were not sent to campus “to stop the event” but “to ensure students remained safe.”

“We encourage our students to exercise their rights and to be civically engaged members of the community,” Nelson said in the letter. “We do strongly believe, however, that the safest place to have these discussions is inside our school buildings.”

Another 30 students walked out of Vista Ridge High School in Cedar Park, Leander school district officials said, along with 15 from Austin High School and 50 from East View High School in Georgetown, school officials said.Both the Vista Ridge High School and East View High School demonstrations lasted 17 minutes, to honor the 17 people who died after a gunman opened fire at a Florida high school last week, officials said.The walkouts come alongside other similar demonstrations and rallies across the country after the Florida shooting.

Students take the lead in speaking out against gun violence

Student lie-in at the White House on Presidents Day, photo by Bill Clark, Getty Images

Power to the students!  They exercised their First Amendment rights and took their message directly to the White House on Presidents Day.  Here is an article about it from the Huffington Post by Hayley Miller and Doha Madani:

High School Students Lead Protest Against Gun Violence in Front of White House

WASHINGTON ― Dozens of students gathered in front of the White House on Monday to demand changes to gun laws, just days after a mass shooting at a Florida high school left 17 people dead.

The demonstration was organized by Teens For Gun Reform, an organization created by students in the Washington, D.C., area in the wake of Wednesday’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Protesters participated in what they said would be a three-minute lie-in, which began around 12:30 p.m. on Presidents Day. They lay down in front of the White House “in representation of the victims of school shootings,” according to a post on the group’s Facebook page.

“By doing this, we will make a statement on the atrocities which have been committed due to the lack of gun control, and send a powerful message to our government that they must take action now,” the group wrote on Facebook.

Following the lie-in, protesters continued to hold signs in support of stricter guns laws and shouted phrases including “Shame on you” and “Disarm hate” toward the White House. The group also chanted “No more deaths,” “Am I next?” and “Hey, hey, NRA, how many kids have you killed today?”

Last week’s massacre at the South Florida high school, in which a 19-year-old former student opened fire using an assault-style rifle, sparked protests and calls to action from students nationwide.

A group of students who survived the Parkland shooting have been outspoken in their criticism of Trump and lawmakers who receive financial contributions from gun lobbying groups such as the National Rifle Association.

On Sunday, the students announced plans for a march on Washington to demand congressional action on gun violence. The event, dubbed “March For Our Lives,” is scheduled for March 24.

Whitney Bowen and Eleanor Nuechterlein, both 16-year-old high school students from the D.C. area, started Teens For Gun Reform just two days after the Parkland shooting.

“You never wake up thinking it’s going to be your school or it’s going to be your friends or family,” Bowen told HuffPost. “The Parkland kids didn’t either. ... They woke up and went to school for the last time because there’s not enough gun control.”

Monday’s protest at the White House was planned on Presidents Day for symbolic reasons, Nuechterlein said. It’s not enough for President Donald Trump and other politicians to say “sorry” after school shootings, she said, they also need to start taking real legislative action to prevent them from happening.

Both Bowen and Nuechterlein said they plan to attend next month’s march on Washington.

“We might be 16 now and we might not be able to vote, but we can protest and we can use social media and we will make our voices heard,” Bowen said. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t come down to politics. It comes down to kids dying in classrooms.”

Elodie Camus, a 15-year-old student at the British International School of Washington, D.C., participated in the White House protest Monday with her mother.

U.S. gun laws “have put so many people in danger over the years in this country and there needs to be reform,” Camus told HuffPost, adding that she no longer feels “safe at all” at school.

“Something needs to be changed so not as many people are harmed,” she said.

Eastside Panthers

Hart, Tami and I had a SOY table at Eastside Memorial HS today during their single lunch hour.  For some reason, we had less interest in the table today than usual,  but we always enjoy the interactions we do have.  Some students at Eastside attend the International School and are just learning English.  We didn't have a fluent Spanish speaker with us today, but we managed with our halting Espanol and lots of pointing and looking things up on smart phones.  Students were very patient with us!

Because Eastside still officially contains the "at the Johnston Campus" name, which refers to a Confederate general, Eastside is among the AISD schools slated to have a name change.  So, we asked students their ideas for what new name they would be proud of.  Several suggested just leaving it "Eastside," which may be what happens.  But, other students may have another name they'd really like to use.  AISD will soon begin the process, so we shall see.  One staffer today suggested "Lorax Academy," in reference to the Dr. Seuss book championing environmental protection.  This is appropriate, given Eastside being an eco-campus, with gardens and chickens.

We didn't have a large number of voters for the Penny Poll, but the percentages came out as follows:  27% of the budget for Education, 22% for Health Care, 22% for the Military, 10% for NASA, 10% for the Environment and 9% for Humanitarian Aid.

We offered some new buttons today along with the shirts.

It was good to see these posters from Communites in Schools posted in the hallways, and also posters re. emotions at the counseling center.

I agree - often, anger is the appropriate response to unfairness and helps alert us to injustice.  Consequently,  I would add under how to deal: think about what the injustice is and ways that it can be addressed and how we can be active in achieving what is fair. 

Thanks, Panthers!

Black History Month and the Reagan HS Career Fair

Hart, Tami and I had a super tabling today at the Reagan HS career fair. The all-day event was in the school gym and students came through steadily, taking an interest in our t-shirt challenge, stickers and literature. Our reflection question asked students to think about current happenings that are becoming part of Black History. Most responses centered on Barack Obama's historic presidency, #BlackLivesMatter and police brutality.

 Approx. 75 students completed the t-shirt challenge. We saw at least one student wearing one of our shirts from last year, and a teacher said that he sees the shirts worn often around school. 

Penny Poll results showed equal top priority for Health Care and Education, each garnering 29% of the budget, 18% for Environmental protection, 13% for the Military, 6% for NASA and 5% for Humanitarian Aid. One student commented, "Without Education, we wouldn't have Health Care." Several students put all their pennies into the Environment jar. WIthout a planet, we wouldn't have anything. Reagan HS has a JROTC program, and several students came by wearing their uniforms. There was an Army recruiter across the gym from us. A number of students said they were thinking of enlisting, and we were able to talk with them about alternatives. Thanks to Reagan students and staff for all the interest and participation!

Here are some of the many student responses to the Black History question:

The federal budget is a moral document

Here is an excellent editorial piece co-written by our friend, Paula Rogge, a medical doctor living in Madison, WI and formerly of Austin, TX.  This was published in the Madison State Journal on January 13, 2018. 

As we conduct Penny Polls in our schools during SOY tabling, students overwhelmingly vote for more tax funding for education, health care and environmental protection and not for more weapons.

This reflects what a majority of people want: funding for human needs, not war.

Massive Military Spending is Immoral

by Paula Rogge, Jerry Folk and Maureen McDonnell
Madison State Journal   Jan. 13, 2018

Many of us enjoyed the holidays with family and friends last month. But as we start a new year, we must remember that for hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen, this has been a time of death and injury, separation from family and friends, homelessness, cold, hunger and illness.

In the coming weeks, Congress is planning to vote on a military appropriations bill that will raise military spending to $700 billion in 2018. This includes $634 billion for the military’s regular operations. An additional $66 billion is budgeted for military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Niger and Yemen. If approved, about 60 percent of our discretionary budget will go to the military.

The $700 billion includes funding for aircraft and combat ships the Pentagon did not ask for, and for flawed weapon systems such as the F-35 fighter jet.

The bill allocates money for a new ground-launched nuclear cruise missile that could reignite a nuclear missile race with Russia. And it budgets funds for nuclear weapons modernization. Championed as a “deterrent” to world war, nuclear weapons now threaten international security. Spread of these weapons to countries such as North Korea, as well as cyberattacks and attempts by terrorist groups to buy or build nuclear devices, have greatly increased the chances of a nuclear accident or attack.

The cost of war is not only financial, it is human. As of March 2015, an estimated 210,000 civilians had died violent deaths as a result of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In the last three years, the U.S.-led air strikes against the Islamic State in Syria have killed thousands of civilians. At least 10,000 Yemeni civilians have been killed since 2015 in the U.S.-supported, Saudi Arabia-led war on Yemen, most of them during airstrikes on civilian areas, hospitals and schools. Hundreds of thousands more of non-combatants have died due to exposure, lack of food, clean water and health care arising from these wars. In Yemen, half a million people have contracted cholera, and famine now threatens the country.

What damage has this continual overseas war done at home? Over 6,000 of our soldiers have been killed and 47,000 have suffered physical, psychological and moral injuries in the Iraq and Afghan wars. The Pentagon’s huge budget has meant less domestic spending on health care, education, job creation, infrastructure and a safety net for our most vulnerable citizens.

The United States spends more on the military than Russia, China, the UK, France, India, Saudi Arabia and Japan combined. But when we participate directly or indirectly in armed conflicts abroad, especially when we kill civilians, we create enemies. When we destroy homes, hospitals, schools, factories and infrastructure, we make it almost impossible for survivors of war to rebuild their countries enough to sustain a lasting peace.

The budget is a moral document that reflects our national priorities. If we respect human life, surely we can find more creative, constructive ways of defending our nation than relying on massive military spending. We must urge our leaders to redirect tax dollars from guns and bombs to foreign aid, diplomacy and economic sanctions to prevent wars. We must limit government weapon sales to combatants. We must aid those displaced by wars. And we must redirect Pentagon dollars to urgently needed domestic programs.

Our tax dollars should be used to protect and sustain, not endanger lives abroad and at home.

Rev. Folk is former executive director of the Wisconsin Council of Churches. McDonnell is a Dominican Sister and board member of Worker Justice Wisconsin. Dr. Rogge is a member of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Wisconsin. They all are members of the Ecumenical Peace Working Group of Wisconsin.

Animals to people: "Only YOU can prevent war."

Hart, Tami and I had a really good day of tabling at Bowie HS today. I'd salvaged some old calendars with wonderful photos of wild animals from around the world and made a poster with some messages from the animals' points of view. Student responses to the question that related to the poster got right to the point: wars create loss of habitat through building of military bases, outright destruction of habitat and food sources, injury and death from radiation and other weapons like land mines, and people turning to crime like selling elephant tusks because of war-related effects on communities.  One student also mentioned that the proliferation of weapons caused by war also can lead to more poaching of wild animals, which surely is true.

 The Penny Poll results showed the highest priority for Health Care at 26% of the budget, Education at 24%, the Environment at 21%, 11% for the Military, 9% for Humanitarian Aid and 9% for NASA. During our tabling, a JROTC squad practiced marching maneuvers right outside the windows from our spot. Several students who visited the table and did the t-shirt challenge mentioned plans that included military service, so we were glad to be able to talk with them and offer them some alternative information.

Because MLK Day is coming up, our reflection question related to that.  Many students mentioned boycotts in their responses, but didn't mention specifics when it came to what is or could be boycotted now.   We will have to explore this more in future tablings.

  

We had to smile at this school banner. A spoof, perhaps, on the current US president?

I liked seeing this bumpersticker on our intrepid driver, Tami's car!