Christmas 2019 is upon us, and once again, I would like to share a Christmas Day poem by the 19th-century Scottish poet and essayist, Robert Louis Stevenson reflecting our common humanity:
A Prayer for Christmas Morning
By Robert Louis Stevenson
The day of joy returns, Father in Heaven, and
crowns another year with peace and good will.
Help us rightly to remember the birth of Jesus, that
we may share in the song of the angels, the
gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the
wise men.
Close the doors of hate and open the doors of
love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift and good
desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil, by the blessing that Christ
brings, and teach us to be merry with clean hearts.
May the Christmas morning make us happy to
be thy children.
And the Christmas evening bring us to our bed
with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for
Jesus's sake.
Amen.
Wishing kind thoughts for a Merry Christmas.
Although we are of many faiths,
it is important that our common humanity
allows us to share a season of peace and goodwill.
Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words, the newest Library of Congress multimedia exhibition, opened on December 5, in the Library’s South Gallery of the Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C., to much fanfare and critical praise. By humanizing Rosa Parks, visitors are able to see her greatness in a new light.
“I want to be remembered as a person who stood up to injustice, and most of all, I want to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free and wanted others to be free.” – Rosa Parks
If you are of a certain age, chances are good you remember the famous photograph of Rosa Parks seated on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus, taken Dec. 21, 1956.
A year earlier, on Dec. 1, 1955, Parks became nationally known for her refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a crowded bus in the same city.
Parks’ arrest was the catalyst that led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the American Civil Rights movement which ultimately brought about the dismantling of Jim Crow segregation in the southern United States.
While Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on the bus, the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the subsequent fallout from it all happened before I was born, as a student of American history I’ve always been interested in learning more about her life of defiance and how she became a symbol of human dignity and freedom, not only in America but internationally, too.
During a recent visit to Rosa Parks: In Her Own Wordsat the Library of Congress,I learned that while Rosa Parks (1913-2005) became an icon of the Civil Rights Movement – “celebrated for this single courageous act of civil disobedience” – she has often been characterized by misconceptions. It’s an old and convenient story that is finally being debunked. “Contrary to popular belief, Parks was not a demure seamstress who chose not to stand because she was physically tired.” Instead, as I learned, “her calm demeanor hid a militant spirit forged over decades.”
Among many first-week visitors to the exhibit was E.R. Shipp, a Pulitzer Prize winner for commentary, who is journalist in residence at Morgan State University’s School of Global Journalism and Communication in Baltimore, Maryland. She wrote Parks’ obituary while she was a reporter for The New York Times and gained a keen insight about the civil rights icon – especially after interviewing Mrs. Parks in a New York City church in 1988, in the midst of a voter registration drive. She and I shared a brief conversation in person following a curator’s tour and later continued it via email as we discussed our shared experiences after seeing Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words.
“I was very impressed with the exhibit and think that, for most people, it will be a revelation,” Shipp told me. “Even now, many people only know that Mrs. Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery and that she became known as ‘the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.’ Those who know that, don’t now much more than that.”
Shipp conveyed to me she was impressed by the quality of Mrs. Parks’ personal writings as much as with the behind-the-scenes insights that her writings offer us. She hopes to make use of the papers as a scholar and journalist in the future. “I did not really know her family lineage and did not realize that many of her forebears could easily have called themselves white. They were what the writer Jill Nelson has called ‘the voluntary Negro,’ she said.”
Shipp, who writes a column every other Wednesday for the Baltimore Sun, shared her insights about Parks with her readers today, noting: “Perhaps it is inevitable that each generation puts a stamp on the past. The power dynamics of who disseminates a history becomes key.”
Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words is presented in a multimedia format in four main areas – Early Life and Activism, The Bus Boycott, Detroit 1957 and Beyond, and A Life of Global Impact – and together, we learn of the complete story about the remarkable life and contributions of the mother of the Civil Rights Movement.
So, just who was Rosa Parks? For one, she was a seasoned activist – an organizer – who organized to free the Scottsboro Boys in the 1930s. Also, she helped operate the NAACP and Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters offices in Montgomery during the 1940s and 1950s. Despite her punishment from the bus incident, which included unemployment and dire poverty – not to mention being the subject of death threats – Parks strove for social justice and human rights. She served as an inspiration not only in the U.S. but also around the world, fighting for women’s rights and speaking out against the Vietnam War. She was a prisoner advocate and supported the growing Black Power movement of the 1960s. By the 1980s, she supported the presidential campaigns of Jesse Jackson and also participated in the anti-apartheid protests against South Africa. She was an advocate of nonviolence and peace. What a remarkable life Mrs. Parks lived!
After her death in 2005, Rosa Parks’ body lay in honor at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, the first woman given that distinction. In 2006, a statue of Mrs. Parks was placed in the National Statuary Hall. Throughout the U.S., there are many schools, parks and streets which are named in her honor.
Thanks to the vast archives of the Library of Congress, which includes the Rosa Parks Collection (a gift to the Library of Congress from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation), visitors to Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words will see a variety of rarely seen materials that offer not only an intimate view of Rosa Parks, but also document her life and activism – “creating a rich opportunity for viewers to discover new dimensions to their understanding of this seminal figure.”
Credits: Cover photo by Michael Dickens. Original photo of Rosa Parks seated on bus from Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Rosa Parks statue photo courtesy of AOC.gov. Video courtesy of YouTube, LOC.gov.
“Seriously Funny: From the Desk of ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’,” on display through Dec. 31 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., explores humor as a protected form of free speech under the First Amendment.
When I visited the “Seriously Funny” exhibition during Thanksgiving weekend, I saw firsthand the lasting influence that Jon Stewart, former host of The Daily Show, had on political satire. It could be seen through the list of comedians that Stewart mentored during his tenure: Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Samantha Bee, Hasan Minaj and current The DailyShow host Trevor Noah, among many.
The centerpiece of the “Seriously Funny” display of more than 50 artifacts is The Daily Show desk and globe that was part of the set of The Daily Show withJon Stewart. There’s also an original Newseum-produced short film that goes behind the scenes at The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and shows how a typical day’s program is developed and produced.
During his years sitting at the anchor desk of The Daily Show, Stewart exercised his First Amendment freedoms through comedy and spurred his audience to think critically about the world. Night after night, he found humor in serious matters. No doubt, there were many who trusted Stewart’s satirical take on the news more than actual broadcast journalists. Imagine that!
Highlighting his tenure as host, Stewart guided us through the tragedy of 9/11, two wars and four presidential elections. He challenged both politicians and the press to do a better job. Later, he became a passionate and vocal advocate for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
Among many who have praised Stewart’s work, former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw said: “There are more facts and more truths told in the first eight minutes of The Daily Show than most political news conferences in Washington.” Also, David Remnick, editor in chief of The New Yorker, noted: “He set out to be a working comedian, and he ended up an invaluable patriot. He wants his country to be better, more decent, and to think harder.”
“Welcome to ‘The Daily Show,’ Craig Kilborn is on assignment in Kuala Lumpur. I’m Jon Stewart.’” With those words spoken on January 11, 1999, the comedian Stewart became anchor of The DailyShow, broadcast on cable’s Comedy Central. From opening night through 2015 when he stepped down, Stewart transformed the program from what had been a modestly successful parody of TV news into a cultural treasure. Through Stewart’s use of funny, often-pointed video clips and pointed and poignant commentary, The Daily Show became a trusted source of news for many Americans. Over time, Stewart became just as comfortable in satirizing current events as he was in interviewing newsmakers – from world leaders and Nobel laureates to best-selling authors.
I learned that a 2004 video of The Daily Show host became so popular it helped inspire the creation of YouTube a year later. By 2007, a Pew Research Center study ranked Stewart alongside CBS News’ Dan Rather and CNN’s Anderson Cooper as “a trusted source for news.” Stewart was the cover subject of many American magazines, including Rolling Stone, which in October 2004 dubbed him “The Most Trusted Name in News.” In the Rolling Stone cover story, Stewart said, “We need a news organization that puts country over partisanship.” In his last week as host, Stewart compared a Republican presidential candidate forum to a scene from the popular Pixar movie “Toy Story.”
Looking back on Stewart’s 16-year run as host of The Daily Show, he challenged viewers “to think about politics and the press while laughing at the absurd. Whether advocating for legislation, challenging the powerful and political elite, or launching a new generation of comedians, Stewart had a vast impact on American culture.”
MSNBC prime time host Rachel Maddow praised Stewart by saying: “I think his work on The Daily Show at Comedy Central has made our country a better country. I think it has made politics more accountable. I think it has made the news media sharper and more self-conscious and ultimately better.”
On his very last show, Stewart’s parting words were matter-of-fact, bordering baffled anger. He expressed, “So I say to you, friends: The best defense against bullsh*t is vigilance. So if you smell something, say something.”
