Community Corner
Vintage View: Parishioners Take on the Race Question, Circa Summer 1968
At the time of publication, it had been three months since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated and a group of local laypersons and pastors are studying the civil rights movement.
July 11, 1968: It's been three months since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN, and a group of Lakeville and Farmington citizens have been holding study meetings to talk about race at the local Presbyterian church.
Mrs. Lawrence Sahagian gave a report on the book "Why We Can't Wait," written by King in 1963.
Her report was printed in the Dakota County Tribune, and included this passage:
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"How many of us would be willing to go to jail for what we believe? Why should some have to die so that others may have equality?
We (whites) don't have to --- we are free --- we don't know what it is like not to be free.
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Why, then, in our 'Christian-society' do we make it so difficult for the Negro to be free? Are we afraid? Are we prejudice? What is the answer?"
Each week Burnsville Patch publishes "Vintage View," a slice of life from our past. You can check out more events, exhibits and archives at the Dakota County Historical Society, 130 Third Ave. N., South St. Paul.
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