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We Need a National Fast Day
The first time I attended a Passover Seder I was thirteen. As an African American, celebrating one's deliverance from slavery made sense to me. For some of my family slavery was a taboo topic. My great-grandmother refused to talk about it. My grandmother denied that anyone in her family had been a slave. But my great-aunt Irene, who never let details get in the way of a good story, talked freely. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation had set my great-grandmother free.
Just as the Jews celebrate their deliverance at Passover, we Americans celebrate our democratic principles on the Fourth of July. But I believe that if we African Americans are to overcome our sense of ambivalence about America, more is required. Since President Obama is given to evoking Lincoln, I suggest that he follow Lincoln's lead and proclaim, as Lincoln did in 1863 and 1864, a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer.
Why a Fast Day in addition to Martin Luther King Jr. Day?
The religious act of fasting was once a national custom, a custom which ended following Lincoln's assassination. What I propose is not just another holiday but rather a day of contrition and somber reflection. America is a great nation built on aboriginal land, African life-blood, Chinese coolie labor, Japanese internment and Mexican migrant labor.
Just as we honor our principles, presidents and veterans we need to honor all those who were sacrificed. If on such a day we together acknowledge and grieve our failures--past and ongoing--might not Americans set out the next day to make it right?
Over fifty years ago James Baldwin wrote that "the history of the American Negro problem is not merely shameful, it is also something of an achievement. For even when the worst has been said, it must also be added that the perpetual challenge posed by this problem was always, somehow, perpetually met."
Obama's presidency attests to the correctness of Baldwin's insight and conclusion that "it is precisely this black-white experience which may prove of indispensable value to us in the world we face today." Americans resonated with Barack Obama's refrain, "Yes, we can," because we believe change is always possible and that hope will prevail. What began as the American Revolution has been and remains an ongoing revolution; one that saw slaves freed and women enfranchised.
A National Fast Day would serve as a sobering reminder that the American Revolution is yet unfinished and that the future rests in our hands."
Mark Morrison-Reed, a retired Unitarian Universalist minister, is author of "In Between: Memoir of an Integration Baby."
By Mark Morrison-Reed |
January 29, 2009; 4:16 PM ET
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Posted by: LStein1 | February 25, 2009 12:03 PM
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> What a beautiful idea. It surprises me not at all that it comes from a Unitarian Universalist.
Yeah, I agree. I'm an agnostic Buddhist, if anything, but Unitarians really have their heads on straight. They write most of the very few essays in this space that do not make me cringe and mourn for the century-confused state this country wallows in.
Posted by: B2O2 | February 16, 2009 12:11 AM
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Actually, I kind of like the idea, but more as a direct awareness builder of worldwide hunger and poverty. I don't see how it is a particularly direct symbolic reminder of the trials certain parts of our population (and therefore the country as a whole) have been through. Perhaps I'm missing that connection in the essay. How does a fast connect you with the struggles of your forbears, Mr. Morrison-Reed?
Posted by: B2O2 | February 16, 2009 12:06 AM
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This is an unbelievably stupid idea.
What's next, a National Cutting Oneself with a Knife and Beating Oneself with a Chain until One Bleeds day?
Posted by: PSolus | February 14, 2009 12:59 PM
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"If on such a day we together acknowledge and grieve our failures--past and ongoing--might not Americans set out the next day to make it right?"
What a beautiful idea. It surprises me not at all that it comes from a Unitarian Universalist.
Thank you, Mr. Morrison-Reed, for a suggestion that could inspire us to make reparations in our hearts.
Posted by: kjohnson3 | February 14, 2009 1:32 AM
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Really elegant way of getting right to the heart of what ails us. Somber reflection on "those who were sacrificed" would consequently lead to awareness of what's wrong with occupying another country by force (Iraq at this time) for their resources.