"His truth is marching on!" Chills shot up my spine; the fullness of emotion lodged in my throat as the beautiful voices of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sang the last verse of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" during the Inauguration Ceremonies. That moment did it for me. Such a simple phrase had pulled together so many narratives all at once.
It's a new year and the hope of what's yet to come is still fresh in my heart and mind. I had been pondering what I wanted to say in my first post of 2013. The first 6-months since the launch of "The Girl in the Yellow Scarf" have been wonderfully exciting and well beyond expectations. I've signed hundreds of books that have reached the hands of readers all across Central Indiana and into New York, Florida, Maryland, California and Texas. My signature message: "Truth Unfolds..."
Now as our team moves well into the next 6-months, the truth of what happened in Indiana is also marching on. We're working on some wonderful new initiatives that prayerfully will help us to share the impact of the lives of a young black woman whose dreams were dashed in 1968 and the little girl who, finally as a woman, was able to unleash that secret burden with a truth so many had begged for, for 30-years.
Months before Carol Jenkins met her violent end, a preacher whose poetic words inspired a nation to rethink human rights, also fell to the shameful vices of racism. On this day and every day that one visits the new King memorial in Washington D.C., Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy offers new seeds of hope and equality. We haven't arrived yet and sometimes it seems as if change is slow in coming. That's not to deny that some significant progress has been made. Yet I can still hear the words from one of his memorable speeches asking, "How long?..." There's no clear timetable for that piercing question? But we can say..."His truth is marching on..."
And then their is our democracy. An amazing process established to maintain order amid the handing over of power. Yet the last couple of years have made us all question the hearts behind the political divide in our nation. Racism and intolerance sometimes just a scratch beneath the surface. But one look at the Inauguration crowd, revealed diversity, and reason to believe there are more on the side of coming together than those wishing to wedge us apart. There's honor in an inclusive tone, that reiterates "tolerance, opportunity, human dignity and justice." No we won't agree on everything, but we must cooperate and vow to protect our humanity. That's the call we must all address in 2013 as we understand that "His truth is marching on...Our God is Marching on!"
(ISBN: 978-0-615-60705-4) She was a child witness with an impossible choice... Now Sandra Chapman takes you beyond the headlines of the $7 dollar secret and the key to solving the 1968 case.
