On Saturday, March 7, 2015, U.S. President Barack Obama delivered what is no doubt a speech for the ages and an oration that will not be forgotten in a hurry by the world at large and Americans in particular. The speech was so powerful, relevant and timely that some compared it with the famous "I have a dream" speech by the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The occasion was the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Selma's Bloody Sunday and the venue was no other place than Selma.
Selma is known by many as the title of the popular 2014 movie which recounts the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by American civil rights leaders. The important role that Selma plays in the fight for freedom, justice and equality cannot be overstated as it is forever entrenched in American history. While President Obama's speech is a must-read, this piece focuses on the parallels in the Bahamian context; in a Bahamas embarking on the second generation after independence.
Selma and Bloody Sunday
Selma was the venue of an important event that helped to shape the destiny of the United States of America at a crucial juncture in its history. It was reported that approximately 600 civil rights activists led by John Lewis, Reverend Hosea Williams and others, marched east out of Selma on U.S. Highway 80 on March 7, 1965 to demonstrate against injustice and discrimination against African Americans and minorities.
The records show the protests were peaceful and went as planned until the demonstrators crossed the symbolic Edmund Pettus Bridge. The marchers were met by state troopers, police and county posses who had been waiting for them on the other side. What followed was brutality as the use of sticks, tear gas and batons resulted in severe injuries to persons that participated in the march with about 17 of them hospitalized in the aftermath.
A movement for change
The enactment of the Voting Rights Act following Bloody Sunday and the various steps taken to date are testament to the fact that the sacrifices of individuals committed to humanity and nation building do not go in vain. President Obama recognized this reality in his speech but was quick to note that the work of the civil rights movement remains unfinished amidst continuing racial tensions in the U.S. This comes on the heels of the U.S. Justice Department Report on Ferguson which suggests that African Americans were targeted and mistreated. Selma will forever represent to the U.S. a historical site that shaped the destiny of a nation. Thousands of people marched across the Selma Bridge without waiting for the dignitaries that were supposed to lead them on Sunday, March 8, 2015.
The Bahamas has such historical sites all across our commonwealth from Grand Bahama in the north to Inagua in the south. We reminisce on events that took place on key dates in our history; we remember Black Tuesday, the National Strike and the work of the Suffragettes. As Americans draw inspiration from Selma for the road that lies ahead and work that needs to be done, so must we from the events and places that sometimes hold dark but important memories for our nation. We must honor our past and recognize where we currently are as a people if we are to experience a glorious future.
Change is but a beginning
The first black president of the U.S. postulated that the events that unfolded on Bloody Sunday represented "not a clash of armies, but a clash of wills; a contest to determine the meaning of America". Obama noted that "Fifty years from Bloody Sunday, our march is not yet finished, but we're getting closer".
Selma was one of several beginnings of relays that require the passing of batons from one generation to another. This was eloquently summarized in the following words of the US President: "Of course, a more common mistake is to suggest that racism is banished, that the work that drew men and women to Selma is complete, and that whatever racial tensions remain are a consequence of those seeking to play the 'race card' for their own purposes."
This holds true for The Bahamas of the 21st Century. While we have addressed some of the initial forms of racism within our archipelago, we have created new ways to discriminate against one another based on perceived social status, political affiliation, gender and creed. We have fostered a culture which seeks to divide rather than unite and exclude instead of include all Bahamians for selfish or self-serving reasons.
We seem to now practice reverse racism and in some cases racism against our own race thereby harming our own brothers and sisters in the process. This writer submits that the challenge is not the actual act of discrimination but the problem is the flawed philosophy that holds one group superior to another. The struggles of our forefathers and foremothers must not be in vain but must fuel the desire to march on to greater heights knowing that the change they fought for was only the trigger for the commencement of the journey to our destiny.
Can we imagine?
The reflection on Selma will be incomplete if we do not imagine what would have happened if the marchers had stayed home. What if the movement lacked courageous leaders that were willing to risk it all for the common good? Would America be all that it is without Selma and Bloody Sunday? What if the people had forgotten about the history and revolution that Selma represents?
In the same manner, what would the fate of The Bahamas have been if the Suffragettes chose to leave things the way they were? What if the movement for equality was never set in motion? Had we been content with being under British rule without political independence, where would we be in our development as a nation?
The difference between what is and what could have been was the power of the people's will; indeed great things are not wrought without the participation of the people. The willingness to confront the ideas of the past with innovation and calculated risk-taking is the only way to achieve a different outcome. In essence, we must confront and shake up the status quo for the next level of greatness of our Bahamaland to emerge.
We join our neighbors in the US and in the words of President Obama, "honor those who walked so we could run. We must run so our children soar. And we will not grow weary. For we believe in the power of an awesome God, and we believe in this country's sacred promise".
o Arinthia S. Komolafe is an attorney-at-law. Comments on this article can be directed to a.s.komolafe510@gmail.com.
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