"This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." -- Jeremiah 6:16

As a young man, I have frequently wished I were alive during the Civil Rights Era, so I would have had the chance to be a part of that blessed movement. But The Parchman Hour has taught me there is no such thing as the Civil Rights Era. Every era should be the Civil Rights Era.

If The Parchman Hour taught me anything, it is how ridiculous it was that I felt I had missed out on the Civil Rights struggle. There had been a Freedom Ride in 1947, and other forms of resistance to segregation had been occurring since segregation started, but the Freedom Riders knew there was still work to be done.

I hope that The Parchman Hour helps people realize that the past has been someone's present; that all of the things they read about really happened. That all of the historical heroes and villains they have or haven't heard of were real people; that "The Civil Rights Movement" was just people making sacrifices for what they thought was right. That there is still work to be done; that "The Civil Rights Era" was then, is now, and will be the future until everyone is truly equal.

-- Alex Karsten is a member of the cast and crew of The Parchman Hour, by Mike Wiley. This reflection comes after the March 2011 tour of the play in Mississippi..

Prayer: Almighty God, fill us with the strength of your presence that we too might stand in your spirit and truth fighting for justice in the world around us. Do not let us grow weary, but lift us up with strength that we might give glory to your name through our lives.

God Is Still In Control!!

Miss Lladale Carey

Web Content Producer

United Methodist Communications

http://www.umcgiving.org/

lcarey@umcom.org