From: Tom Schafer
Columbus
If you have the ability to help, you have the responsibility. This was a core value I learned from my parents and grandparents growing up in the Columbus of the 1960s and 1970s.
The community that the Miller family helped build was, to me, a special place that evoked great pride in the fact that everybody was accepted and valued. To me, that Columbus was a special time when the promise of civil rights was tangible and burned bright, warming the soul of our community and providing a safe place to pursue our dreams.
When I learned the Ku Klux Klan was going to hold a recruitment rally in downtown Columbus on April 23, 1977, I joined other members of the senior class at CNHS to organize a peaceful protest.
Unlike today’s politics of polarization, that day was a bipartisan gathering including Sen. Robert Garton (R), Rep. Robert Hayes (D), and the Rev. John Bean, minister of North Christian Church. At the Courthouse, the group ringed the fountain to seek inspiration from our elected representatives and leading clergy; and, most importantly, to speak in a unified, clear voice: Racism is not welcome in our community. Those who gathered that day understood the value of everyone in our community and that all lives matter. I believe everyone on that day, in 1977, considered themselves to be pro-life.
I am proud of the stand I took in 1977. But what I did not realize then is it is not enough for Americans to say they are not racist. They must be overtly anti-racist, and until enough of us stand up to help all our fellow Americans identify and speak out against acts of social and systemic injustice, there will be little change. I should have called out my fellow classmates who did not take a stand that day; and I should have done it then. I challenge my former classmates to take a stand today. Let us live up to the rich civil rights heritage pioneered by J.I. Miller. I believe it is our responsibility.
It is no longer acceptable to elect politicians who do not take a stand, but, instead, wait to see which way the political winds are blowing so they can take a position that benefits not Columbus, not Indiana, not the nation, but only themselves. When did the value of an unborn child’s life become more than the value of your black or brown neighbor’s life? When did personal aggrandizement and greed hijack the GOP and pro-life movement? I am as Republican as Dwight Eisenhower, George H. Bush and John McCain, but our neighbors need our help, now more than ever.
The people of Columbus and the Sixth Congressional District require better leadership than Representative Pence, Vice President Pence and, sadly, President Trump have displayed.
To the people of Columbus, Cummins, local merchants and churches, please, speak up and take a stand. We are fighting for the soul of Columbus.
Editor’s note: This letter is paid political content
