“I ain’t starting no fuss; I’m just here trying to register.” – Annie Lee Cooper in “Selma”
From the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church on September 15, 1963 to the televised beatings of non-violent protesters marching from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama on March 7, 1965, there is little that more vividly depicts the social wounds of racism. The exorbitant personal costs of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement were paid by many – both black and white – and a small sampling of those costs were gruesomely depicted in the movie ‘Selma’ directed by Ava DuVernay. Many of the emotional wounds suffered during that era continue to carry great pain today for those who have not been able to offer healing and for others who have not been able to embrace healing. But for those of us who bear the scars of that time of civil unrest, this movie opens the door to a wealth of opportunities to begin open dialogues about what has occurred, to bring understanding about where we are now, and to help define the path each of us needs to take individually to effectively progress forward as a unified nation.
The range of emotions that one experiences while watching ‘Selma’ can only be a weak imitation of the feelings of those who actually lived those experiences first hand. Anger, fear, sadness, defeat, hopelessness… Determination, strength, courage, community, hope: Polarities of the mind creating a roller coaster that precariously speeds every rider along, sometimes leaving them disoriented and uncertain. By living vicariously through the screen for 2 fully-engaging hours, one is challenged to perform a self-inventory of what we really believe and how willing we are to stand up for those convictions. By learning from and growing beyond the mistakes of yesterday, overwhelming grief can be overcome by overflowing joy for each one of us who has the courage to acknowledge injustice as blatant inequality, the strength to embrace healing as total liberty, and the wisdom to proclaim truth as the ruling conviction.
#EmbraceThePowerOfYourScars #RememberSelma Edmund Pettus Bridge