Godsta

COMMENTARY: From Selma to Newark

When the news first broke, and I saw the image of the four young college students, somehow I flashed back to the four girls killed at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 15, 1963. Their images have haunted me for more than forty-years, especially one of the young-girls who looked just like my mother when she a little girl.

On August 6, 2007, four young college students were shot execution-style behind an elementary school in Newark, NJ. Three were killed, one listed in fair condition a local Hospital after being shot in the head. This event shocked the country, shook the young Major of Newark who was visibly shaken by this crime.

Maybe it was the way the photographs were positioned, maybe it was that fact they were so young, or their hope for a brighter future was so abruptly and violently snatched away in a matter of minutes. In Selma, these four children were to hopefully benefit from the Civil Rights Movement that would impact the world. In Newark, these four young-people were to benefit from the experience and opportunity of a college education. I don't know, but occasionally I am still shocked by the level of violence that has occurred between then to now.

Just when we think, we've seen or experienced it all something happens to remind us that we haven't. It also reminds us that all is not lost, that we must remain prayerful, hopeful and become pro-active. Before Selma and after Newark the hope for a better and safer world community existed and remains an obtainable goal. Those of us who are able to help- join in by mentoring, helping a neighbors or volunteering with one of the many organizations that genuinely need help. And, please don't forget to pray for these families and their lost.

Brotherman