As we all know, the kneel-ins was a
mass undertaking during the Civil Rights Movement. In fact, our hometown of Memphis
was by far the most prevalent place for the religious protest. I tend wonder
why these protests tend to be overlooked when studying the movement. Stephen
Haynes recently published the book, The
Last Segregated Hour. In the introduction, he sheds to light this over
powering question, as he names them the “Forgotten Protests.” We have to wonder
why. Why have we “forgotten” these groundbreaking religious movements? Not only
were the kneel ins important for equality in the religious institutions, but
also for civil rights as a whole.
Was it because these protests
rarely ever became violent? Additionally, Haynes points out that they were
barely any arrests from the kneel in protests. I’ve only read the introduction
to his book but it really got me thinking about the kneel ins and they role in
the movement. Even though the church is the house of God and the worship place
for Christianity, it at one time was the most exclusive place. Church is very
traditional and every culture has their own way of practicing. It amazes me
that Christians could be so exclusive when one of Jesus’ main philosophies was
love. We must love our neighbor. Why was this so hard for White Southerners to
do?
Places of worship are supposed to
be sacred and full of love. Whites had essentially inherited the “racist
trait.” Therefore, trying to change this inherited trait is nearly impossible.
It requires breaking down social barriers that were set up long before our
time. I am in awe while sitting here thinking about how these “so called Christians”
could deliberately exclude and completely disregard someone from worshiping the
Lord. Am I wrong by saying that one of the main pillars that Christianity sits
on is evangelism? By denying someone access to learn about the Lord, they are
essentially disobeying God. In the book by Haynes, he mentions the time when 2
college students were turned away from the local Second Presbyterian Church. Try
to imagine going to a church today at your age and being denied access to worship.
At the bottom of my post, I have
put the link to a photo from the kneel in period. I think this photograph is
quite thought provoking as it shows the white’s response to the kneel ins. I
believe that this was taken at a Presbyterian church here in Memphis, but I’m
not positive of this. As you can see, the white people of this church have
linked arms to black the black protesters from worshiping here.
I agree with you, Laura, that the kneel-in movement was a significant aspect of the Civil Rights Movement. This reminded me of Baldwin's passionate account of the pairing of religion and race. It strikes me as odd that, while the actions may not have entirely been forgotten, the cause for the kneel-ins to occur has fallen by the wayside. I think the publicity behind the kneel-ins gives them an advantage. Non-violent direct action, while not as widely publicized as the violent riots in some parts of the country, has a positive image and sheds a brighter and better light on individuals involved in the kneel-in movement, as well as other non-violent movements. Respectfully challenging the status quo turned out to be an asset for many, and also allowed them to follow the Christian doctrine of loving one's neighbor.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think the church in the photograph is Evergreen Presbyterian.