One More Prophet Raised Up By God

I continue to think about the prophets God raises up in our own day and how some of them have changed my life and the world in which we live.  I want to share two stories from the life of one of my personal prophets, one whose life intersected with mine in more ways than I even knew.  I was not aware of some of her prophetic actions until 2011 when several members of the Albertville High School Class of 1966 gathered for the homecoming football game and then conversation at the home of one of our classmates.  The story shared with us that evening by the woman’s son was a story that changed our lives forever and one of which we were not even aware.  I begin her story in the summer of 1965. 

A group of parents of black children in Albertville asked the county school board to allow their children to attend school where they lived.  At the time, all the black children in the county attended Lakeview School in Guntersville.  The school was substandard, did not have indoor restrooms, a lunch room or a Gym.  Educational materials were also substandard when compared to the materials at the “white schools” in the county.  As a part of this process the then county School Superintendent arranged a meeting with the parents of all the black school children in Albertville.  During the meeting he told the parents that he and many other people in the school system and community, including members of the Ku Klux Klan did not want their children attending school in Albertville and asked them to keep them in school at Lakeview.  

At this point, my classmate’s mother, “the Prophet,” stood up and spoke to the crowd and to the Superintendent. “My children are smart children and deserve the same education your children deserve.  They deserve facilities and resources for their education that will allow them to be the best and most educated persons of which they are capable.  So, regardless of your desires, my children are going to go to school in Albertville.” 

In late August, a yellow school bus, preceeded and followed by cars carrying armed police officers and state troopers, made the rounds of all the Albertville schools. At each school, children were dropped off to attend the school in their home town for the first time.  At the high school where I was a senior that year, either four or five black teenagers got off the bus and joined those of us who had attended school in Albertville for years.  I cannot imagine how it must have felt to be new in a situation like this and I applaud their courage.  And I applaud the courage of a mother who stood up to the power establishment of that day and proclaimed by her actions that “my children are more important than anything you can do to me!”  

Years earlier this mother was singlehandedly responsible for opening up the public library to black children as well as ultimately, adults.  She approached Mrs. Fricks, the wonderful librarian of my growing up years and asked her to allow her children the opportunity to check out books at the library.  This small beginning ultimately led to the Albertville Public Library becoming truly The Public Library.   

Prophets know that one person can make a difference.  I pray that God will touch all of our hearts and give us the courage to be the prophet we are called to be, so that God’s Kingdom will come on Earth as it is in Heaven. 

God, give us that courage to always stand up for what is right no matter what.  Give us grace to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being (Book of Common Prayer, p. 305).” 

From a Sermon Preached on February 1, 2015 in Christ Episcopal Church, Albertville, Alabama