While religion is a great motivator on all sides of these “legendary” changes, and while African American churches are prominent in the ongoing struggle for social justice, other formal religious institutions seemed to be less engaged in the recent Florida-and-then-national protests. Pro-gun and anti-gun forces are as polarized today as were the white citizens in Birmingham in the Sixties. Is a new legend in the offing? Racism and racial tensions remain strong they demand and deserve attention. The rest, of course, is history.ĭid the patently nonviolent protests and expressions on March 14 “make history,” and, if so, what kind of “making” lies ahead? Wyatt Tee Walker, a well-remembered civil rights leader with credentials, properly noted that the Birmingham student protests became a “legend,” and were the “most important chapter” in the entire civil rights movement. Arrests followed, but these first steps brought the “Children’s Crusade” and its cause to national attention. So he looked to a new front: those in high schools, colleges, and even elementary schools, teaching them the meaning of nonviolence and nonviolent actions. James Bevel, a leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, faced a decline in the number of adults who would participate in demonstrations to effect change. Precedent for all this is the Birmingham Campaign for civil rights of April-May 1963. When young people awaken to a cause, many ordinarily passive and apathetic people get roused. Without doubt, the March 14 walkouts and anti-walkout events will receive attention from leaders in churches and schools, public interest factions, activists, and ethicists. But this time there were good reasons to focus on concerns about children protesting, many of the young being prohibited from holding demonstrations. These have to do with all the standard issues, and public attitudes by people of all ages. While formal religious arguments and incidents rarely make headlines, this incident has helped reveal fissures within the public where religious and ethical concerns were, and are, prime. “How Young Is Too Young for Protest?”-an article by Stephanie Saul and Anemona Hartocollis in the New York Times published the day before the March 14 protest marches against gun violence in a great number of American high schools-posed questions which concentrated less on gun rights and more on the role of children on all sides of the guns-and-schools controversy. Martin Marty Center Dropdown for Martin Marty Center.Our Community Dropdown for Our Community.Research & Faculty Dropdown for Research & Faculty.Undergraduate Program in Religious Studies.

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