“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
The U.S. army was still segregated in 1945, the year my father was liberated from the German Dachau concentration camp. Weighing less than 100 pounds, he was close to death. So when I found out later that the 3512th African-American troop broke the rules to hide and nurture him to health, I was filled with gratitude. Gratitude they took him in, nursed him to health and provided a home. That’s the day I grew to cherish the commanding lieutenant John Withers and his men. Black men risking their future because they understood discrimination, they understood racism, and they knew this boy needed help and a place to call home.
We find ourselves in a divisive culture today. People forget. Do we need another catastrophe to realize our common humanity, to understand the incredible freedoms we’re afforded in our magnificent country?
What can we do? Start simple. Be kind to everyone. We all want and need the same things. To be safe and loved, to know that our lives matter. All lives, all races, all colors. My parents modeled this for me.
So the next time you feel the need to question a stranger by their color of skin, their clothes or their language, remind yourself they may just have finished breakfast with their family, gotten their kids to school and left to go to work. Imagine feeling fear. Fear to walk to the grocery store, to go to your place of worship. Fear for your family. Kindness goes around, and when you need it most, it will come back to you.
Won’t you join me in celebrating Black History Month. My orphaned father had no family, he was sixteen, and these black men embraced him and they became family. Because of their kindness, he grew stronger and was able to work toward a future. He didn’t feel alone anymore.
Thank you all, you’re amazing,