The Final Solution
08-05-2004, 09:21 AM
Civil Rights - Revisited
Thinking of You
By Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick
The 40th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "I have a dream" speech brought back many special memories for me. I was in Washington at the time, still serving, I believe, as dean of students at The Catholic University of America. It seemed very important to me that the Catholic Church play a role in this major moment in the civil rights movement of our country, and so I organized a group of students to come downtown and participate in it. We all carried placards. I still remember that mine called for equal rights in employment for all men and women.
As we gathered downtown at the Mall, I recall that we all felt a sense of history and, if truth be told, a bit of anxiety as well. There had been rumors that the March could break out into violence and I knew that, if it did, as a priest I would have to do my best to keep people calm. All the great leaders of the civil rights struggle were there and right in their midst, as a sign that this was a cause involving all the churches, was Cardinal Patrick O'Boyle, the Archbishop of Washington. As a Catholic, I was so proud that he was there. He had paid his dues to history in so many ways as his actions and support of African Americans and all of America's minorities would testify. His presence, standing close to Dr. King, made it clear that this was a struggle in which every religious community had a role to play.
I had a great spot from which to hear Dr. King's words. As they flowed in eloquent cadence from his lips, you could feel the deep longing for equality in his message and the thousands of people who listened were both moved and inspired by the man and the moment. It was one of those special times in my life that I can never forget.
There remains one more civil rights cause from which we should not walk away, and it concerns the rights of the children of the poor. As you know, we are presently struggling for a new commitment to excellence in education here in the District of Columbia. It is a three-segment approach that will help all our youngsters in the public schools, the charter schools and the independent schools as well. Under this program, the parents of our poor families would have a choice to educate their children in a newly upgraded public school system, a charter school or an independent school; this last group would include our parochial schools.
For more than three quarters of a century, the law has granted our parents the right to educate children in the parochial schools, but the reality of our society has made it impossible for poor families to exercise that right because of the tuition that these schools must charge. This new legislation, while it helps all our children, gives parents the key civil right to choose the school their children will attend. As we celebrate the clear and courageous call for civil rights of Dr. Martin Luther King in our city 40 years ago, let's pray that our day may see the accomplishment of another basic civil right in the area of parental choice in education.
As I think of that historic day 40 years ago, I'm thinking of you and hoping that you and I may see the accomplishment of this other civil right for the parents of the poor in this nation's capital.
http://www.cathstan.org/news/08-28-03/4.shtml
Thinking of You
By Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick
The 40th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "I have a dream" speech brought back many special memories for me. I was in Washington at the time, still serving, I believe, as dean of students at The Catholic University of America. It seemed very important to me that the Catholic Church play a role in this major moment in the civil rights movement of our country, and so I organized a group of students to come downtown and participate in it. We all carried placards. I still remember that mine called for equal rights in employment for all men and women.
As we gathered downtown at the Mall, I recall that we all felt a sense of history and, if truth be told, a bit of anxiety as well. There had been rumors that the March could break out into violence and I knew that, if it did, as a priest I would have to do my best to keep people calm. All the great leaders of the civil rights struggle were there and right in their midst, as a sign that this was a cause involving all the churches, was Cardinal Patrick O'Boyle, the Archbishop of Washington. As a Catholic, I was so proud that he was there. He had paid his dues to history in so many ways as his actions and support of African Americans and all of America's minorities would testify. His presence, standing close to Dr. King, made it clear that this was a struggle in which every religious community had a role to play.
I had a great spot from which to hear Dr. King's words. As they flowed in eloquent cadence from his lips, you could feel the deep longing for equality in his message and the thousands of people who listened were both moved and inspired by the man and the moment. It was one of those special times in my life that I can never forget.
There remains one more civil rights cause from which we should not walk away, and it concerns the rights of the children of the poor. As you know, we are presently struggling for a new commitment to excellence in education here in the District of Columbia. It is a three-segment approach that will help all our youngsters in the public schools, the charter schools and the independent schools as well. Under this program, the parents of our poor families would have a choice to educate their children in a newly upgraded public school system, a charter school or an independent school; this last group would include our parochial schools.
For more than three quarters of a century, the law has granted our parents the right to educate children in the parochial schools, but the reality of our society has made it impossible for poor families to exercise that right because of the tuition that these schools must charge. This new legislation, while it helps all our children, gives parents the key civil right to choose the school their children will attend. As we celebrate the clear and courageous call for civil rights of Dr. Martin Luther King in our city 40 years ago, let's pray that our day may see the accomplishment of another basic civil right in the area of parental choice in education.
As I think of that historic day 40 years ago, I'm thinking of you and hoping that you and I may see the accomplishment of this other civil right for the parents of the poor in this nation's capital.
http://www.cathstan.org/news/08-28-03/4.shtml