Glory ... soon: Much has been accomplished, but unity, understanding will heal

There is no way to fully explain the courage it took to stand on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., in 1965 and to march for civil rights.

Those who were there with that day can describe the scene and the tension as those who gathered faced Alabama state troopers.

They can tell you how they felt as they continued to press forward, knowing a confrontation was coming.

They can tell you what happened next -- when the peaceful demonstration for equality turned into attacks by the officers that left so many injured.

The day is etched in their memories.

They remember their hearts in their throats and the pride they felt as they stood firm.

They remember the fear, the concern and the overwhelming feeling that they were there not just for themselves, but for generations of future young black men and women.

And they know the price that was paid to get to that bridge, too.

They know what it was like to face Jim Crow laws, to not have the same rights and opportunities as white citizens.

They know what it took to wake Americans up and to have them stand against racial discrimination.

They know all too well the sacrifices that were made and the lives that were lost in pursuit of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.

They know personally how they felt when they heard that speech on the Washington National Mall and when they heard that Dr. Martin Luther King was shot.

They were there. They lived those bus rides, those lunch counters, those protests.

We cannot understand fully what kind of bravery and determination those who fought for civil rights in the 1960s and beyond have faced.

We don't know the experiences of the first pioneers to be part of the end of segregation in schools -- and those who would become leaders in fields of all sorts where previously they were not welcome.

We don't know what it is like to be the voice that inspired others to dream and to achieve -- and to believe that change would come.

That's partially because the world is different now.

The widespread racial inequality that led to violence, murder and strife is not an everyday occurrence in this new world.

There are opportunities. There are possibilities and there are people of all races who strive to foster understanding and unity rather than division and hatred.

We are united in that together.

There are still incidents of discrimination to face -- and questions to answer in the black community as well.

And there is still a distance to travel.

But even though there are still some who see race and divide based on that assumption of inequality and hate, there are many more who join hands to build bridges and to create a community that welcomes all comers.

And that is the "glory" that those bridge walkers must have envisioned in 1965 - an America united in its decision that some day people of all races would come together to stand for equality, respect and love.

We aren't there just yet, but we have flashes of brilliance that would have made Dr. King proud.

All we have to do now is make sure the work continues and that future generations understand the path that was laid for them.

That is how we truly achieve the world that those who crossed that bridge in Alabama hoped they would see.

Published in Editorials on March 9, 2015 11:15 AM