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August 1
German anti-fascists, T.J. Jemison, and the Slavery Abolition Act
David Barnhart
August 01, 2025
Photo by Angela Barnhart, 2008.
Today marks the execution of four anti-fascist activists in Germany at the hands of the Nazi government. Their names were Bruno Tesch, Walter Möller, Karl Wolff and August Lütgens. They were framed for murder at a riot during a Nazi march that turned deadly.
Today marks the birthday, in 1918, of T.J. Jemison, Baptist minister, civil rights leader, and organizer of the 1950 Baton Rouge bus boycott. His action would become the model that would later be used in Montgomery.
Today in 1834, the Slavery Abolition Act of the United Kingdom went into effect. Notably, the government paid compensation to slave owners, rather than those who have been enslaved. Today is a holiday in several nations which were former colonies of the British Empire.
Reflection:
In The Universal Christ, Richard Rohr writes: :
The Crucified and Risen Christ uses the mistakes of the past to create a positive future, a future of redemption instead of retribution. He does not eliminate or punish the mistakes. He uses them for transformative purposes.
People formed by such love are indestructible.
Forgiveness might just be the very best description of what God’s goodness engenders in humanity.
Prayer: God of justice, we are surrounded by injustice which calls for righteous anger; yet your justice and mercy stand side by side as two sides of the same coin. Show us the path that liberates us from the cruelty and the mistakes of the past. Amen.