Sitting at the Dock of the Bay

As I sat in the old golden pews in the church trying to stay alert until Pastor Garrison preached the sermon, I found myself wandering off in space. I tuned back in when I heard him say, "let us pray," as he always does to begin his message. Pastor always finds a way to keep the congregation engaged. He strolled to the front of the pulpit and sat on the bottom step and started singing.

The familiar tune of Otis Redding brought back memories for a lot of the older members in the church. Their heads swayed back and forth as he sang. The lyrics of the song struck me. I had heard that song from television commercials, but that particular Sunday I understood what the song meant. For me as a Christian and other Christians we sometimes just sit back and watch people sin and don't say a word and sin becomes acceptable, but it shouldn't be that way.

But it is not just about being a Christian; there are some issues that should strike at the heart of every citizen. I often ask myself, how can we sit and watch the ships roll on while our young black men are continually being locked behind bars? How can people afford to sit and watch the tides roll away, when our children cannot read nor write because of an inadequate school system?

After reading an article in the City Business about why New Orleanians are not outraged because of the fraud and theft in the school system, I came to the conclusion that some of us just don't care. But how can we not care when our children's educations and futures are at stake. I know sometimes we feel like we have nothing to live for and nothing is ever going to go our way. And sometimes it even looks like nothing's gonna change and everything still remains the same. Everything will remain the same, if we don't realize that we can make a difference, if we come together.

I know I cannot change conditions on my own but with the help of others we can. Unity is not the answer, but it is one. Unity has been a pillar of social action for generations, except for ours. Things have truly changed. In 1873 men such as Victor and Marcelle Dupart joined a political organization called the Unification Movement. This movement was a call to action for racial equality in Louisiana. This committee of 1800 black and white individuals came together for a common goal. Some of these men later became a part of the Citizens' Committee, which organized a challenge to the segregationist Separate Car Act in 1890. In fact, Homer Plessy, who became famous in history as the person arrested in 1892 for riding in the white train car in New Orleans, probably heard about the unification from the Duparts, who were members of his family. He must have learned from them lessons about the importance of organized, unified action for social justice.

Now, in 2003, why are we not coming together to fight for the rights of our children to have a good education and a safe place to live? One significant fact is that in the last quarter of the 19th century, when Plessy and the Duparts were unifying, their organizations excelled because of their courage and ambition. These people were dedicated and persistent. They were not willing to settle to sit on a separate car to get to the same destination as a white person. To support this work, the Citizen's Committee raised almost $3000 to pay for legal fees. They were willing to work and suffer to reach their goal.

We as teachers, students, and community members must be bold in our efforts to bring a real sense of community and reignite hope and a strong belief that we can and should make a difference. We don't have time to continue just sitting at the dock of the bay.