The Mountaintop

Last night I read the final pages of While the World Watched by Carolyn Maull McKinstry and Denise George.  It is the kind of book that when you finish, you are not ready to begin a new title just yet.  Ms. McKinstry, then fourteen, was present at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church during the September 15, 1963 bombing.  She lost four friends that day and the book chronicles her journey through the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham and on to the activist and spokesperson she is today.  These struggles in the 1960s were just before my life began, and I'm certain were quickly glossed over quickly in my American History books, if mentioned at all.

The imagery of the harsh realities left me stunned with the reminder that men were so harmful to other men, woman, and to children.  As many of you know, the journey was a long one, and for Ms. McKinstry continued through 2002 when she testified in the case of one of the suspected bombers.

The book includes historical context and quotes from a number of speeches from Dr. Martin Luther King and President John F Kennedy.  Throughout the novel, there is always hope.  One of my marked passages includes this quote from Princeton professor, Dr. Cornel West,

"You cannot lead the people if you don't love the people.  And you can't save the people if you're not willing to serve the people." (Kindle Loc 2693)

I hope your week is off to a kind start.