Last Saturday marked the 60th anniversary of the momentous Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. This Supreme Court case ended race-based segregation in American schools and moved the United States into the Civil Rights era. Rather than diving into the details of the Brown v. Board case, I decided to take this opportunity to share some of my thoughts on the Civil Rights movement in general.
I think the most dynamic part of the Civil Rights movement was the way in which change was accomplished. The Civil Rights movement was a revolution but it did not work like other revolutions. In the twentieth century, when so many revolutions occurred violently, the Civil Rights movement stood out as a peaceful revolution which accomplished its goal. The power of the Civil Rights revolutionaries was immense. By becoming weak and defensive, the revolutionaries of the Civil Rights movement exposed the oppression they faced for what it was: oppression. This revolution would dramatically transform the United States, and yet it was accomplished without the aid of guns, militias or violent revolts. The peaceful revolution had made its debut and the world would not be the same. Without firing a shot, the African-American community in the United States accomplished what they had set out to do and they successfully revolutionized the American culture.
Another thing that stands out to me about the American Civil Rights movement was the patience which the African-American community exercised during the long decades towards equality. The revolutionaries of the Civil Rights movement understood that “good things come to those who wait” or to put it in more biblical terms, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9) This was the secret of the Civil Rights movement. The patience of the African-American community and their fellow freedom fighters won out over the hostility of their enemies. It took a couple decades for the Civil Rights movement to achieve what it had set out to do, but it did achieve the end result.
Overall, the Civil Rights movement is the story of good winning out against evil. It is the story of light defeating darkness and the story of oppressed peoples finally getting justice. It is an American story. The Civil Rights movement made America what it is today in many ways. There are lessons we can learn from this historical event, like any event. First, that power is sometimes found in the most unusual ways and second, that patience will pay off.