Yes, I met him for a brief moment in time. I even had the opportunity to exchange a few words with him but it only takes a moment to recognize the wisdom and grace he exuded. Wisdom is easily recognizable and grace is easily experienced when one stands in its genuine presence.
I am a counselor by trade and a minister by passion and yet it was Julian that created a sacred space where it would seem all were welcomed. To welcome anyone regardless of their stance for justice is a huge task to undertake. I did not know Julian personally but I am aware of his profound impact on the civil rights movement, his passion for justice for all and how his legacy of justice will continue to proliferate in the hearts of those that continue to carry the torch of hope.
It is interesting that as I stood there speaking with him in my little town of Modesto located in the Central Valley of California I thought to myself, "he is so famous, so powerful, he could choose to visit anyplace...why here?"
Well as part of my reflection I thought back to the grassroots movements that perpetuated the civil rights movement. I thought back to how he was the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center which of course at that time was an unknown. It dawned on me and I shook my head and said to myself, "Because it starts here in this small unknown place where those crying out for justice seek with earnest hearts to be heard and to be seen as equals and treated justly and fairly." Justice starts where hope is found.
Julian Bond came to celebrate hope in the little community center probably no bigger than an elementary school cafeteria but the hope could have filled the senate floor in Washington D.C. He felt it, he knew it, he believed in it. The young children, teenagers and adults that met him that day were all most likely awestruck like me. He spoke eloquently, showed compassion and patience and never touted over any of his amazing accomplishments.
When everyone was assembled in the little community center he spoke about some of his accomplishments but mostly he spoke about what still needs to be accomplished by everyone. There's that torch of hope that shone so brightly in the faces of everyone present with him that day. Still so much to be accomplished and he believed that it happens where hope is found and it was certainly present in that little community center that day.
There were no souvenirs handed out that day but I certainly took a piece of that torch of hope with me. In that sacred space, in the presence of wisdom and grace, was where the torch of hoped was passed onto me by the now departed and truly missed, Mr. Julian Bond.
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