“We Shall Overcome: A Pilgrimage to Selma” by Henri J.M. Nouwen
January 15th, 2010
In commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 18) the Henri Nouwen Society presents an excerpt from Henri Nouwen's The Road to Peace, edited by John Dear. Used with the kind permission of Orbis Books.
It all began with a feeling of restlessness, an inner compulsion, a fierce gnawing, a painful question: Why aren’t you in Selma?
On Sunday, March 28, at eleven o’clock at night, tossing and turning in my bed, I suddenly knew I had made a mistake. By midnight I was in my Volkswagen, driving out of Topeka, Kansas, and heading for the South, the deep, deep South. The restlessness disappeared, and there was a deep, palpable certainty and sense of determination. I trained my eyes on the endless roads of Kansas, flooring it, fast and sure. . . .
No one expected that the march would make any difference. Everyone knew that when it was over the fear would only grow more intense. George Wallace cannot be converted. The doors of the [Montgomery] Capitol cannot be opened. We won’t get any further than the steps.
Nevertheless, we celebrate. It’s the celebration of those who have nothing to win, but who also have nothing to lose. Guitars appeared, and groups formed around the tent. Spirituals were sung. All my worries faded when I heard the songs. . . . What were the words about? About the Selma bridge, about George Wallace and the Capital. About pain in the feet, sweat on the back, mud in the shoes, sunburn on the face. About the people of God walking to Montgomery. About the city that will be taken like Jericho . . . about Martin Luther King, the new Moses. About the state troopers and the cops, about the sticks that were used to beat the marchers, the tear gas used to blind them, the horses that ran them down. . . .
The City of St. Jude became like an army camp outside the ramparts of a city that had to be taken. Spirits were tense and the urge to get on with it created wild restlessness. . . . Martin Luther King stood up, and with his deep, heavy voice he cried, “What do you want?” And the people’s answer thundered back, “FREEEEEDOM!”. . . .
Fifty thousand people sat on the Capitol’s stately avenue. . . . King spoke about the history of his people, about the days of slavery, about the struggle for human freedom, and about the many martyrs . . . “They did not die in vain, because we are on the move.” And then the people took over. The repeated cry sounded like the blast of trumpets at the walls of Jericho: “We are on the move.” What began as their leader’s cry quickly became the cry of thousands, striking the Capitol walls like sledgehammer blows. . . .
To read Henri Nouwen’s full account of his experience on the Selma to Montgomery march in 1965, see Henri Nouwen's The Road to Peace: Writings on Peace and Justice, edited by John Dear. (Orbis Books, NY, 1998.) Available on our shopcart.
Photo: Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King Jr. enroute to Montgomery, March 1965. Photographer: David Kent Zegers. Used with permission.