A Few Things Everyone Should Know About This Civil Rights Pioneer
By Roscoe Barnes III
Chairman, Anne Moody History Project
Copyright (c) 2018
#AnneMoody
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| Chaplain Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D. |
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Note: This message was delivered on "Anne Moody Sunday" on Feb. 25, 2018, at Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in Centreville, Miss. The program was held in recognition of Black History Month. It was organized by the Rev. LeReginald Jones, who serves as the assistant pastor of the church.
Why Anne Moody Matters
In Hebrews 6:10-12, we
find these words:
God
is always fair. He will remember how you helped his people in the past and how
you are still helping them. You belong to God, and he won’t forget the love you
have shown his people. We wish that each of you would always be eager to
show how strong and lasting your hope really is. Then you would never be
lazy. You would be following the example of those who had faith and were
patient until God kept his promise to them. (Contemporary English Version)
In 1993, Cornell West
published a book called, Race Matters. In July 2013, a movement emerged called “Black
Lives Matter.” It was in response to police brutality of unarmed black men. In
2014, a counter movement arose and it was called, “Blue Lives Matter.” Then
someone came up with the slogan, “All Lives Matter.”
It seems that the nation
is fixated on what really matters. Today, I want to join the conversation by
talking about Anne Moody and why she matters.
In our text, the writer of
Hebrews is voicing concern about the Christian believers who retreated to their
old religion whenever they were faced with persecution. He encourages them to
hang on and to keep the faith. But he doesn’t’ stop there. He also urges them to
identify the people who are making it – the people who are growing in their
faith and serving God on a daily basis. He tells the believers they should
follow the people who through faith and patience inherit the promise. In other
words, we as Christians must take note of the veterans of the faith and those
people who know the meaning of growth and success. We should follow people who
are worth following. As you know, everybody is not worth following.
In a broader sense, the writer of Hebrews is urging us to
follow those who matter. I’m happy to say today that Anne Moody matters. She
matters for many reasons, but today I’ll talk about three of the reasons.
First, she matters because
she was one of us. Second, she matters because she told the truth. And third,
she matters because she risked her life to make a difference – and to help make
her country a better place to live. Let’s look at the first reason.
She was one of us
When I say Moody was one
of us, I’m speaking of something that goes beyond race. After all, people of
all races and backgrounds have been deeply moved, inspired -- and transformed by -- her story.
So this point is not limited to race, although race is an important factor.
When I first opened the pages of her book, I was personally struck by the raw
language and her use of such expressions as “mom and them” and “sugar water,”
among others. These were the expressions my family used when I was growing up
as a child in the Mississippi Delta. When I saw these words in her book, Coming
of Age in Mississippi, I felt an instant connection. I felt she was just like
me.
She was like us in other
ways. She was a Mississippi girl who knew pain and suffering. She was down to
earth, according to her family, and she sincerely cared about others. When I
think of her story, I’m reminded of the passage in James 5:17-18:
Elijah was just as human as we are, and for three and
a half years his prayers kept the rain from falling. But when he
did pray for rain, it fell from the skies and made the crops grow.
(Contemporary English Version)
Elijah was just like us.
He was human. Despite his great exploits of faith, he was just like us. And so
was Anne Moody. She was one of us. Elijah was great but he was not divine. He
did not have a halo. And neither did Anne. She was an angel, but she had feet
of clay. She was not perfect. She had her issues. She was one of us.
She told the truth
The second reason she
matters is because she told the truth. Anne Moody was authentic
and her story was true. She gave us a history lesson that shined a bright light
on the good, the bad and the ugly in Mississippi. She told the truth about
growing up poor and black in the segregated south. She told the truth about her
fears, her struggles and her achievements. She kept it real, as the young
people would say.
Make no mistake: Anne Moody matters because she spoke the
truth and did not hold back. She spoke truth to power in spite of the dangers
that existed for her at that time during the civil rights movement. Although scared at times, she stood her ground. She spoke the truth and faced the consequences, all in hopes of bringing change to Mississippi and the United States.
She risked her life to
make a difference
Anne Moody made many
sacrifices, some of which took a toll on her life. She suffered during the
movement and she suffered after the movement. She faced racism and discrimination.
She endured beatings and death threats. She went to jail. She feared coming
home.
In a 1985 interview with
Debra Spencer, she said she had wanted to become a doctor. But instead, because
of the suffering of her people, she chose to work in the civil rights movement.
She made little money, but she made a big difference.
One of the saddest things
I read about her is her desire to go home but was afraid because of the threats
of death. They were threats to her and to her family. Sadly, the threats escalated as she became more famous with her photo appearing in newspapers across the country. According to her family, when she learned of her mother's illness, she
was afraid even then to return to Mississippi. But she eventually came. Yes, she
endured much sadness because of the sacrifices she made for you and for me.
So in closing, I ask that
we read her book, learn from her story and share it with others. Why? Because
Anne Moody matters.
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Would you like to know MORE about Anne Moody?
Visit here to
see the timeline of important events in her life
history!
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For more
information:
See the Anne Moody
page here.
