The Great Debaters and MLK day

Really, there are just not many movies worth my $7.
This one is!
I am always compelled to see a true story. Especially an inspiring true story.
Anyone can write a fictional, inspirational tale.
But when history, or rather the Author of all history Himself writes it, I'm there.
This is a true story that takes place in 1935 in Marshall, TX.
It gives you a very real picture of what it was like to be black in the South in 1935. The fear...the oppression...the hopelessness.
The desperation for change to take place, and equality to prevail.
You feel it, as they weave a beautiful tapestry with words in this movie.
But that change didn't come for a long time. It was some 30 years later before schools became integrated. Before black people were even offered a fair education in this country. That was not very long ago! When our nation, especially in the South, was set on fire by racial hatred and division.
I don't think our generation can even grasp what that was like.
We need to. White and black culture today is greatly impacted by our past.
Racism still lives today, in a somewhat more sophisticated manner, but there are embers of it still burning all around us. Every now and then I catch a whiff of it, and it stinks, and makes me a little sick.
Praise God, change has come, and all people have the same rights under our government. But it was slow. Generations of people who ached for that change never saw it in their lifetime.
Do we even appreciate it?
I don't think so.
Most people were out of school today for MLK day, or off work. But did you give a second thought to why? Did you teach your kids about it today?
We have been talking about it for a while, and the kids, Erin, and I went to the Freedom March in Bryan. It was so cool! It made me wonder what it might have been like to be apart of that famous march on Washington where Dr. King gave his "I have a dream" speech.
I am thankful that I don't have to fear for my children like the people in this movie did. We don't see or hear very often of violent racial acts today. But no matter what our behavior, our hearts must be right before the Lord. That's what He sees and cares about. Is there anything in our hearts, hiding, lurking, that shouldn't be conerning other races? I find that if often rises to the surface when talking about interracial relationships or trans-racial adoption. Would you feel 100% at peace if your child wants to marry a black person someday? Can you think of any reason in the world that you would exclude the option of adopting a black baby if you were going to adopt?
If there is hesitation on those questions, would you examine why?
Rusty and I obviously did much soul searching and asked God to clean the yuck out of us before we started the adoption process with Justus. He did. You know what, sin is passed down generation to generation, and many of us have inherited racism because we haven't let the Holy Spirit come in and do the work. Convicting us of sin, calling it sin, repenting with much sorrow and grief, and letting Him make us new.
I will post pics soon from our MLK Freedom March.
Happy MLK day, and run, super fast, to the movies before this movie is gone and see it! It's FANTASTIC!!!!!