First United Methodist Church of San Diego, California, United States In Real Life "Selma: I Vote Yes" by Rev. Mary Allman-Boyle, Executive Pastor for Friday, 27 Feburay 2015

First United Methodist Church of San Diego, California, United States In Real Life "Selma: I Vote Yes" by Rev. Mary Allman-Boyle, Executive Pastor for Friday, 27 Feburay 2015
To honor Martin Luther King Weekend, John and I attended the movie, Selma. This powerful movie was appropriately released on the 50th year of the Voting Rights Act.
The Civil Rights Movement needed to focus on how to bring about change. The scene where they explored various options was compelling. How do you prevent violence? How do they let justice roll down? How do you live without fear of bombings and brutality?
They debated: how could there be justice without true vote and voice? If you cannot vote, you cannot serve on a jury. Without equal representation on juries, trials are biased. Without the vote, you cannot turn out corrupt and racist sheriffs and elected officials. How can you have justice without the vote?
The scene when Oprah Winfrey’s character, Annie Lee Cooper, went before the county official for her voting exam, was disturbing. “Does your employer know you are here?” The questioning escalated from questions about the constitution to names of counties, to names of officials. No one could possibly pass this oral exam! And yet, she returned over and over again after more study and memorization.
So the vote is what they would focus on. I found myself narrating the current lives of the characters. Oh there is the Andrew Young, who went onto be Mayor of Atlanta and the U.S. Ambassador to the U. N. Rosie Greer was a football player and activist. And there is John Lewis, an important voice and someone who went onto be a US Congressman and is still in congress today. Three days after our viewing, Rep. John Lewis was front and center in the images of the President’s State of the Union Address to Congress. In many ways we have come a long way. In many ways we have not.
Our friends of color are still stopped by police and treated differently. How can we rest comfortably when a child is shot with a play gun and that decision to shoot and kill is made in two minutes without appropriate steps of intervention? How can we encourage everyone to exercise the hard won right and obligation to vote? Amos 5:24: “But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream”. May it be so! Amen
I encourage you to watch Selma!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6t7vVTxaic
Rev. Mary Allman-Boyle, Executive Pastor

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