Justice is a Journey

Last Saturday morning, I arrived at the Courthouse in Warrenton, Virginia. It was the tenth week in a row for our local Black Lives Matter Vigil. The Vigils started shortly after the murder of George Floyd, and have occurred every week since then. Seeking justice is a journey, and not always a short one.

I’m guessing some of you are now shaking your heads, wondering how I became part of such a radical undertaking.

… Oh my God! Max was hoodwinked by those radical BLM leftist groups! He’s calling for the destruction of America! Maybe he was a Marxist spy when he was in the Army! He always seemed like a good man, I wonder what happened?…

Except justice and equality aren’t radical undertakings, they are something we should all want to strive towards. Peaceful protest is as American as apple pie. Shouldn’t we want justice and equality for all of our citizens?

Our local vigil, Vigil for Action: Black Lives Matter, is sponsored by The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, The League of Women Voters, and The NAACP – Fauquier County Branch. These aren’t exactly communist or violence prone organizations. In fact, they are just the opposite. They are a part of the fabric of our community, and are quietly making a difference every single day with their good activities across Warrenton and Fauquier County. We should all be so radical.

Each week, somewhere between 65 and 120 people gather peacefully at the Warrenton Courthouse. The group coordinates with our local police, and there is always at least one officer in attendance providing protection. After an initial greeting, there are words of inspiration from a clergyman or speaker. Previous speakers include clergy from Baptist, Catholic, Buddhist, Episcopal, and Unitarian churches. The crowd then spreads out on the sidewalks of the four streets that intersect at the Courthouse and holds a Vigil for the next forty five minutes.

On this most recent Saturday morning, we totaled over 100 participants. We were a multi-hued and multicultural gathering. Black, brown, cream, and white. Women, men, children and dogs. Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and probably a few agnostics and atheists. Old, middle aged, young adults and toddlers. You could look around and see the America of today, and the future.

We were greeted by Atefeh Rokhvand, who then introduced Imam Nahidian from the Manassas, Virginia Mosque. After his thoughtful and encouraging words, we moved to the streets approaching the courthouse, where we stood waving our signs. Many who drove by honked and gave a thumbs up. Some just looked straight ahead. And two (that I saw) flipped us off. Interestingly, of the two flipping us off, one drove a black pickup truck and the other a black Dodge Charger. Evidently, they thought black vehicles mattered, but their views apparently didn’t extend to black lives mattering.

What good does all of this do? Are we changing any minds? Scott Christian of The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy explained the mission for the local Black Lives Matter Vigil as fourfold:

• To encourage an understanding of systemic racism as being both institutional and personal.

• To promote changes in policies and laws by advocacy and elections.

• To demonstrate peacefully, with a diverse group of participants, that ending racism is not partisan.

• To keep this issue in the public eye through the November elections.

I can’t tell you whether we changed any minds last Saturday. I do know advocacy and bearing witness are key to effecting change for most issues. I encourage all to confront the issue of racism and consider how you can make a difference. If “Black Lives Matter” with Capital Letters causes you concern that you are somehow supporting a larger group, then simply remove the capital letters. We should all agree, black lives do matter.

For my friends who say “all lives matter”, yes, of course they do. But we have a sickness in this country that is going to kill us, if we don’t cure it. When you can be publicly suffocated to death, killed while falling asleep in a Wendy’s parking lot, murdered while sleeping in your own bed, murdered while jogging through a neighborhood, or shot in the back seven times while your three children watch, the world is not right. We are not right. If we don’t solve this problem of racism, what becomes of us?

These Vigils were originally scheduled to end Labor Day weekend. Last week, a decision was made to extend them through the November 3rd elections. As we approach the end of summer, the three organizing groups are distributing information to: help people advocate with legislators, inform them about various candidate’s policy positions in the upcoming November election, help people register to vote, and help people understand Virginia’s new laws on absentee and early voting.

Seeking justice is a journey, and not always a short one. I hope you join us on this pilgrimage.

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Addendum:

– For those who live in the area, here is the information on upcoming Vigils:- Vigil for Action: Black Lives Matter is held every Saturday,10-10:45 am at Courthouse Square Plaza, Old Town Warrenton. Wearing a mask and keeping physical distance, come stand in solidarity with your neighbors and advocate for understanding and political action to end systemic racism. There are plenty of signs available for you to hold and homemade signs are welcomed. The vigil is sponsored by the League of Women Voters, the NAACP- Fauquier County Branch and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP). For more information, call 540.272.0483. 

– Thanks to Scott Christian, Colleen Conroy and Cathy Hall for editing assistance with this blog.

– I’ve written five other blogs about race relations. You can find them here:

• September 2016: Diversity, Really? A blog about education and racism. https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/20/diversity-really/

• August 2017: This is not my America. A blog about my niece and the KKK and Nazi incidents in Charlottesville, Virginia in August, 2017. https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/14/this-is-not-my-america/

• April, 2020: “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Revisited. A blog about Martin Luther King Jr, his jailing in Birmingham on Good Friday 1963, and his subsequent publishing of “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/07/letter-from-birmingham-jail-revisited/

• June 2020: I am Number 35,591. A blog about my graduation from West Point, and white privilege. https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2020/06/06/i-am-number-35591/

• July 2020: Sancho and Peter. A blog about two slaves freed in Virginia in the early 1800s. https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2020/07/22/sancho-and-peter/