Global Citizenship

Recently my daughter returned from a school trip to Alabama and Mississippi with her class. The focus of the trip was to provide the students a firsthand look at the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement. Over the course of one week, they heard lectures from those who were on the frontlines during the March for Freedom, visited museums and monuments in memory of the civil struggle, and were immersed in a new culture and part of our country. One of the things my daughter taught me from her trip was about an event in which hundreds of high schoolers participated in during the fight for equality. I do not recall this little slice of history being taught to me while I was in school and the knowledge of the event has stayed with me. On May 2 and 3 thirty six years ago, a group of children bravely made their mark in the history of the civil rights movement when they participated in the Children's March for Freedom in Birmingham, AL. Organized by the Reverend James Bevel, hundreds of high school students left school and met at 16th Street Baptist Church where they were discharged from the church in groups of 50 for the sole purpose of being arrested to protest the incarceration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Those brave students left school and peacefully gathered to raise their voices in song. They faced snapping German shepherds, fire hoses, angry police officers and awaiting vans. Those students risked being killed for their actions like some adult protesters were during those terrible years. Upon release from jail, another 50 students were ready to take their place.

Since hearing about this march, my thoughts have centered around the bravery these young men and women displayed to organize and stand up for something that the majority of adults in their city were vehemently against: racial equality. I researched a bit into the another time children impacted history by their actions and presence: Mother Jones organized a Children's Crusade in 1903 in which children march from PA to NY carrying banners exhorting going to school over working in the mines. Their action led to the eventual passing of Child Labor Law in 1913. In both of these accounts, the children did not possess guns, bats or other weapons of destruction. They did not loot, fight, rape or kill those in opposition. They carried signs and let their songs and actions speak for the rights they sought.

Children possess hope: Hope for themselves and hope for the future. In this time of pessimism, financial insecurity, foreclosures, global warming, war, civil conflict, and whatever else you can add to the list, adults can become mired in dissolution and despair. It takes a certain amount of belief and hope to motivate oneself to change one's own behavior, let alone feel one can make a positive impact on the world. It takes an enormous amount of courage to peacefully, but assertively, stand up for what one feels is true and risk the consequences of going against the flow.

Last night I had the opportunity to hear former President Clinton speak in San Antonio about The Clinton Global Initiative University. His initiative builds on the model he put into place during his presidency and now focuses on engaging the next generation of leaders from college campuses around the world to discuss solutions to urgent social and environmental problems. As citizens of the world, Clinton anchors the focus of the initiative on the values of: empowerment, gratitude and giving. Through the guiding manifestation of each of these values, young people can change the world, helping villages become self sufficient, attend to the environmental mess our generation and those before us have left, as well as seek cultural understanding which one day will lead to less civil and global conflict.

I am moved and inspired by the actions and hopes of my daughter's generation. I believe if we can all view ourselves as citizens of the world, rather than focusing on the differences of color, religion, sexual orientation, political ideology, we can ensure the health of our beloved big blue ball called Earth. Each of us possess a beating heart in our chest and a desire to live a healthy, good life no matter what part of the world we find ourselves or the color of our skin. If we were to live the values of empowerment, gratitude and giving, not only would our personal relationships be enhanced, but our communities, country and world would reap the benefits as well.

Thought for the Day: What can you do today as a Citizen of the World?

"Do a public good as a private citizen."
Former President Bill Clinton