Thank you, dear friends, for your outpouring of support for ABOUT THE LATTER END OF AUGUST--my 30-day "journey" from History to Healing and Hope--commemorating the first Africans forced to American shores in 1619 and celebrating 400 years of the African American Experience.
Nothing can make right what was done to them. But, I wanted--needed--to say "thank you." From your notes and comments, you did too. Because they were there, we are here. Homage is due. We are why and how generations kept on keepin' on. We are their dreams . . . .
Moving on . . .
As headlines get curiouser and curiouser, yet quite predictable, OMG what a time this is! I thought you might be interested in this #Throwback Tuesday moment as timely as it is timeless.
In the late 1970s, when unregistered voters were asked what had finally inspired them to register, many pointed to the pride they felt during the impeachment hearings against President Nixon. It was THAT moment when Representative Barbara Jordan held television audiences spellbound with her inspired analysis of the Constitution. For two days, in order of seniority, each House Judiciary committee member made an opening statement. Fate slated Barbara Jordan, whom many considered the committee’s most accomplished lawyer, for the 9:00 PM prime-time slot on July 25, 1974:
“We the people”—it is a very eloquent beginning. But when the Constitution of the United States was completed on the seventeenth of September in 1787, I was not included in that “We the people.” I felt for many years that somehow George Washington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake. But through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision, I have finally been included in “We the people.” Today I am an inquisitor.... My faith in the Constitution is whole. I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution.... The subjects of its jurisdiction are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, and that’s what we’re talking about.
Three days later, the first article of impeachment was front-page news and the Supreme Court’s backsliding blow to school integration the top Black issue. But the most talked about, prayed about, person was Congresswoman Jordan. In spite of all else, people found cause to beam, “My, my, my, how she made us proud.”
Forty-five years later, the House of Representatives is now tasked with an impeachment inquiry into the conduct of Donald Trump. When articles of impeachment are considered, among his 49 inquisitors—members of the House Judiciary Committee—eight will uphold their oaths of office as the sons and daughters of Barbara Jordan.
If you’re near upstate New York on October 20, join me at the Athena International conference in Poughkeepsie for my speech, “Leadership in a Time of Uncertainty: 10 Time-Tested Strategies.” For more information and to register, click here.
Upstate again on October 28, I'm back at SUNY New Paltz for my second Distinguished Speaker Series Lecture. This time, Ilyasah Shabazz and I share the stage. How amazing that the fates (with a little help from President Donald Christian) would bring us together. We'd met, but never gotten to know each other before. So, I'm really looking forward to this one. My husband, Max Roach, and her father, Malcolm X, were good friends. Max introduced her mother, Dr. Betty Shabazz, and me when our family was living in Amherst, Massachusetts and Betty was studying for her doctorate at UMASS Amherst. Now, I get to spend time with their daughter! For more information and tickets, click here.
This week: Sharon Robinson—daughter of baseball legend and Civil Rights movement hero, Jackie Robinson—talks about her new book, CHILD OF THE DREAM: A Memoir of 1963. And what a year that was for a child coming-of-age and a nation come-to-Jesus.
The Janus Adams Show airs and streams live Saturdays at 4:00 pm ET on public radio's WJFF. To hear Sharon, tune in this Saturday, October 5, 2019. Here’s a teaser.
For more information about my shows and guests, visit JanusAdams.com. Subscribe to the podcast on SoundCloud.
In case you missed it
If you missed parts of ABOUT THE LATTER END OF AUGUST, here’s a link to the full 30-day journey from History to Healing and Hope.
Hold fast to your dreams, everyone! Thanks for following and sharing the newsletter.
*Harambee, a Ki-Swahili chant, means "let's all pull together!"
Emmy Award-winning journalist, author, historian, keynote speaker, Dr. Janus Adams is publisher of BackPaxKids.com and host of public radio’s
“The Janus Adams Show” and podcast.
www.JanusAdams.com
www.BackPaxKids.com
