June 11

Today is the feast day of Saint Barnabas, who died in the year 61. He was born with the name Joseph, but was given the name “Barnabas” by the apostles, which means “son of encouragement.” He was an early convert to the church who sold his property and lived in community with the apostles. He was also one of the first leaders to accept Paul, and encouraged others to do the same. Church tradition tells the story that he was the cousin of John Mark, and that John Mark wrote the gospel of Mark, but historians are skeptical of these claims. The book of Acts tells of how Paul and Barnabas had a falling out over John Mark, and they parted ways during one of the missionary journeys. According to tradition, Barnabas and Paul reconciled well before both were martyred. 

Today is also the day, in 1963, when Alabama Governor George Wallace blocked the entrance of the University of Alabama, and National Guard troops cleared the way for the first Black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, to register. Wallace had declared that segregation would last forever, and later in the day, President Kennedy made a public address in which he proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

Today is the birthday, in 1847, of Millicent Garrett Fawcett, a suffragist, pacifist, organizer, and author who also worked for civil rights for sex workers and to end human trafficking in England. She led England’s largest suffragist organization, which rejected the use of property violence by more militant suffragists, but still acknowledged their role in changing society.  

Reflection:

It seems important today, as the debate about property destruction and "more respectable" nonviolence is again being debated in the fascist-provoked confrontation in LA, that Fawcett spoke about the death of suffragist and protester Emily Davison. They were on opposite sides of a debate about tactics in the women's suffrage movement. Davison believed that their cause demanded more militant tactics, including smashing windows and setting postal boxes on fire. Fawcett believed that their political success depended on building a broader, more peaceful coalition.

Emily Davison eventually leapt in front of a horse during a race before the king in 1913. She died from her injuries. Fawcett spoke about the event, and she allegedly said this:

Though some historians dispute these words and their meaning, I think it conveys an important truth for contemporary people—there is not just one method available to us, and building a successful movement for social change requires tolerance for different tactics.

Fawcett may not have agreed with Davison or her sacrifice, but she could not deny Davison's courage and commitment. I think we sometimes place too much emphasis on tactics when what is truly needed is a witness of the spirit.

I am not going to waste my time on people who do nothing for liberation yet bloviate about tactics.

Happy Birthday, Millicent Fawcett, and honor to you, Emily Davison. May today's justice-seekers show half y'all's courage

A quote that seems appropriate for the day, rom Barbara Brown Taylor’s Speaking of Sin: 

I appreciate this take on sin, which we really only understand through metaphor. I especially like the analogy of shipwreck, which pairs well with Susan Bond’s metaphor of salvation as salvage in her book Trouble with Jesus:Women, Christology, and Preaching. God’s salvage project does not erase the catastrophe or harm that has been done, but it does promise new life.

Prayer: Merciful God, forgive us and free us, we pray, from the sins which we commit by doing, sins we commit by leaving things undone, the sins performed by oppressors in our name or for our benefit, and the sins which we elide because they serve us. Let your sunlight illuminate and disinfect our thoughts, words, and deeds. Amen.