Do Little Things Count?

Posted on November 7, 2011 by jhowell

So you are not a “revolutionary” and do not feel comfortable getting involved in high profile movements like Occupy Wall Street or –at the other end of the continuum—the Tea Party. You want to do something worthwhile, to make a positive difference; but “changing the world” or the social order is something else altogether. Do little things count?

As it turns out, the big issues only come around every once in a while. Maybe you will have an opportunity to be part of a game changing movement once or twice in your lifetime–if you are lucky. Embry and I were young and in the right place and right time in the early 1960s when the civil rights movement reshaped America. It was an opportunity of a lifetime for us though the role we played was very small. Some are maintaining that the era we are in now represents an opportunity to correct the class and economic inequalities in the US, but the jury is certainly still out on that one. One thing is for sure: the stakes are high, and the direction the US takes at this critical time will have a lasting impact. Opportunities to get involved, to take a stand, will be on the table.

But what about doing the “little things”—helping out at a soup kitchen, tutoring an inner city kid, delivering meals on wheels, coaching a Little League team, providing transportation to disabled seniors, being a Big Brother, visiting shut-ins, hammering nails for Habitat for Humanity, serving on a non-profit board or simply being supportive to ordinary people you know who may be going through a hard time? What about taking an unpopular stand for something you know is right even though it hardly falls into the earth shaking category? What about giving money to charitable organizations involved in domestic or overseas work or even participating in a work camp or a hands-on project? Do these little things count?

In an ideal world there would not be any need for homeless shelters, public housing, food stamps or free medical clinics for the poor because there would not be any “poor.” People would have good jobs and nice homes, families would be solid, all children would get a good education, and high-quality affordable health care would be available for all. That is not the planet we live on, however, and all utopian efforts to make it such have failed.

And the irony is that even if somehow we could create a society and a world that was just and prosperous, the little things would still be just as important as they are now. These little things turn out not to be little at all and often make a difference in the quality—and even the meaning—of life to another human being. And that will always be so.

Do little things count? You bet they do. They make all the difference in the world.

Dealing With Adversity

Posted on November 1, 2011 by jhowell

One of the major themes in Civil Rights Journey is dealing with adversity. In my case the adversity was polio; and as it turned out, while a difficult experience, it had a major influence in shaping my character. I believe was in part responsible for my getting involved in the civil rights movement. Looking back on the experience now, I even wonder whether adversity is the right word. The positives far outweigh the negatives, and I have been extremely fortunate to have lived a relatively normal adult life as far as physical health goes. A question many people ask me after reading the book is, “You, polio? I would have never dreamed…”

But adversity is a very real part of human experience. We all experience it to one degree or another. In the case of Embry and me, in 1969 we lost our first child, Katherine, weeks before what would have been her first birthday. She was born with a heart defect, which we were told was relatively minor and could be corrected with surgery. She did not survive the operation. We were in no way prepared for this loss—not that you can ever be prepared for the loss of a child at any age. That’s adversity.

My guess is that if you dig deep enough you are going to find adversity in the lives of everyone you know, not to mention your own life. It may not be as dramatic as some, but is nonetheless very real—depression, a learning disability, loss of a good friend, loneliness, a difficult childhood, substance abuse, poor health, divorce, business failure, career disappointments: the list is very long. And most of us will experience death very personally at some point with the loss of our parents or a sibling. And in the end, of course, we all die.

You might say that how we deal with adversity is one of the main themes in any life story. It is certainly grist for the mill for most novels and short stories. In a way, we thrive on it. How we deal with it determines who we are, what we are made of, what our lives are really all about. It is at the heart of almost all religions—trying to make sense out of a world that is at its core so fundamentally hard for so many people.

The summer after my freshman year in college, I was head boys counselor for Camp Easter Seal, a camp for “crippled children” in Middle Tennessee. There was not a child in that camp whose disabilities did not far surpass anything I had experienced with my bout with polio. A good number were blind, some were deaf, several had severe birth defects, many had cerebral palsy or developmental disabilities (called “mental retardation” at the time), and some had muscular dystrophy, which meant they could barely move on their own and would not live much beyond their teenage years.

Camp Easter Seal

You would think that working in an environment like this would be a downer, but it was anything but. There was no moping or feeling sorry for oneself—at least none that I can remember. These children were upbeat, enthusiastic, generally happy and enjoyed the activities just as much as you would expect any “normal” kid to do. Self pity did not seem to be in their vocabulary, and feeling sorry for these kids was not part of the camp culture in any way. While few of these children would ever be able to live a “normal life” (in the sense that we understand the term) that did not stop them that summer from pursuing life to the fullest that they were able. Their experience at Camp Easter Seal was just for a few weeks out of the summer. Sometimes I wonder what happened to them the rest of the year and what their lives were like when they grew up. My guess is that most of them gave it all they had; and if you asked them about their life, they would say that it was good with some of the same caveats we all use. Talk about overcoming adversity. I will never forget the kids at Camp Easter Seal.

Young People Making A Difference

Posted on October 21, 2011 by jhowell

Every now and then it seems mysterious forces come together to create a climate where suddenly the rules start to change. Certainly in the US the sixties was one of those times. Not only did the civil rights movement happen, there was also the peace movement, the women’s liberation movement, and the sexual revolution. Rock and roll was in its infancy, changing the way we listen to music. Dress codes and the way we talked changed. Everything seemed new and exciting, and it was great to be young and part of an era that was a game changer.

And people my age were the driving force. Embry and I—both in our early twenties—were very small players in this drama; but looking back on it, we both agree that it is one of the times in our life we will value most.

Fifty years later we are at a time where change is in the air again. It is not sure where it is all headed, but one thing for certain is that young people will play a major role and will make a difference. They already have in many countries besides the US—especially in the Arab Spring, in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. They are the engine that seems to be driving the Occupy Wall Street movement. Could this be the beginning of an era that is a game changer like the sixties? Just as fifty years ago the country was bitterly divided with two very different versions of the path to take, today it is perhaps even more divided. Young people could be the decisive factor that moves us toward a more progressive, kinder and more just future.

But it is not just demonstrations and high profile actions that are important. It is what each of us does with our own lives and how we respond to the challenges and opportunities presented to us. In short it is how we play the hand we have been dealt. The difference between a young person and some old guy like me is that people in my generation have pretty much played our cards. We have won some hands and lost some. Others will determine ultimately how well we have played. The challenge for a young person is to make the most of the cards you have been dealt, not only for yourself, but also for other people—especially those less fortunate—and for the world. And you have a life ahead of you to do it. It is an exciting time (again) to be alive.

The King Memorial – Pride, Not Controversy

Posted on October 12, 2011 by jhowell

The King memorial near the Tidal Basin in Washington is scheduled to have its official dedication this week on October 16. The original dedication in August was postponed because Washington was in the middle of a hurricane.

There seems to be a lot of grousing–at least in Washington–about the memorial. The statue of King is too big. King has a scowl on his face. The whole thing is “over the top.” The monument was not even designed by an American, for heavens sake. And of course “the drum major for justice” controversy continues with the Washington Post calling for another delay until that phrase can be replaced by a phrase that gets it right. Nothing new for Washington where controversy seems to be our life blood.

As for me what is really important is the fact that a major memorial honoring Dr. King has been completed and is now part of our national heritage. It is the only major memorial in Washington for a person who was not a president. That fact alone is extraordinary and shows that, despite the fact that as a nation we are still dealing with race issues and still have a long way to go, we have come a long way.

King was inspiring to me growing up more than any other leader of the civil rights movement. Along with most of my fellow seminarians at Union, I felt like my heart had been pierced when I heard he had been killed. Certainly, he will go down as one of the greatest orators of all time. But he was much more than an inspiring orator. He was smart, tough and never took his eye off the ball. His dedication not only to the cause of civil rights but also to non-violence in achieving equality and justice determined the course of the civil rights movement. He deserves this honor and has earned his place in history as one of America’s greatest people.

Of course, not everyone felt that way about him back in the 1960s. Few white Southerners did; and to our surprise when we arrived in southwest Georgia in 1966, a lot of SNCC workers did not care too much for him either. They accused him of picking the low hanging fruit and taking most of the glory when the real action was on the ground where SNCC workers were risking their lives daily. That seems to be the way it is in a revolution. There are different groups with different agendas, and being nice is not the idea. Changing the world is not a picnic.

But those times have now passed and my guess is that most of civil rights workers we worked with who had doubts then have long since mellowed and that they–like so many of us– will be feeling a sense of pride and satisfaction that our nation is honoring this great man.

America in Crisis: Then and Now

Posted on October 10, 2011 by jhowell

Looking back on the 60s, there are few who would deny that America was in crisis. Innocent people were being thrown in jail for standing up for what was right, many people were injured, some were killed. And it was not just the civil rights movement; it was the peace movement as well. Massive demonstrations against the War in Vietnam occurred on a routine basis in New York, Washington and other cities. The mood of the country was angry. The population was split as to the direction the country should take. American seemed to be–and was, in my view– in the middle of a revolution.

That we came through that revolution, I believe, shows how strong and resilient we are as a country.

In the second decade of the New Millennium, we find ourselves in crisis again. We have been in a “Great Recession” for over three years—longer if you count the burst of the housing bubble. Unemployment has doggedly remained above 9%, and few economists predict any significant improvement for the next two or three years. Good people want to work and can’t. Average incomes have continued to drop; and if you take out the top one percent, incomes are actually considerably lower than they were in the 1970s, adjusting for inflation. Housing values have dropped by over 30% over the past five years —by over half in particularly distressed market areas like Florida, Nevada, and California. Almost a third of the nation’s home owners are “underwater” because they owe more on their house than their house is worth. Foreclosures are continuing at over a million a year with no let up in sight. And as a back drop to this grim picture, the top one to two percent of the population are getting richer and richer, amassing more wealth and income than the bottom 90% combined; and the disparity is accelerating.

Largely because of tax cuts under George W Bush and two unfunded wars, there is not enough revenue coming in to pay our bills, and combined with entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security , the deficit crisis has put our country on an unsustainable path. We will go bankrupt if we can’t fix these problems. Maybe it will happen in 2030, maybe 2040, but one thing is for sure: without radical change, the future for our children–and especially our grandchildren–is bleak.

Responding to this crisis, the US Congress is split pretty much down the middle and paralyzed —despite the fact that we have a president who is smart, whose heart is in the right place and who is committed and trying to get us out of this mess. But we seem to be getting nowhere. In recent polls, American people have given Congress an approval rating of around 10 percent—the lowest on record. They deserve it.

So what is going to happen?

There are two basic directions on the table. The direction that has gotten the most attention is the one inspired by the Tea Party Movement, which says the problem is government. If you want to get America back on track, you don’t raise taxes, you cut them—especially for the rich people “who are the ones who are the job generators.” You relax regulations so entrepreneurs can make money and hire more people, and you do not get overly concerned about the environment. In short you starve the government beast, and America will get back on its feet through old fashioned hard work, individualism and “American values.”

The other direction says, wait a minute—firing teachers, policemen and firemen and cutting unemployment benefits is not the answer to the financial disaster caused largely by the excesses of Wall Street . The answer is not lower taxes on the rich but higher taxes and bringing more money into the system to enhance the social safety net, to rebuild aging bridges, roads and transportation systems, and to spur job growth. It is not less financial regulation but more. It is not to abandon the environmental movement but to embrace it and to create clean energy jobs. It is to rein in entitlements but in ways that are fair and that provide a safety net for those who need it. The Occupy Wall Street rallies across the nation are raising this flag. Is this just a flash in the pan or the beginning of something new?

America is again in a revolution, quite possibly in the early stages of one. Which direction we take will determine how we come out as a nation and the future of our grandchildren. The election of 2012 will play a big role in this. The stakes have never been higher.

A Nation Can Change and Correct Injustice

Posted on October 3, 2011 by jhowell

SNCC workers – Photo by Danny Lyon

The civil rights movement in the US is a testament to the fact that nations can and do change to correct injustice. Change also occurred in South Africa to correct the horrible system of apartheid—which was actually more similar than dissimilar to the situation that existed in the South at the time Civil Rights Journey begins. It happened in Eastern Europe with fall of Communism. It is happening now in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya.

The question is not so much can a nation change but how, and the kind of new order that replaces the old order. The early Communist movement was viewed by its followers as a positive change to address the horrible working conditions and economic and class disparities that were prevalent at the time. The outcome of that change turned out to be in many respects worse than the injustices it tried to address. Often violence and bloodshed are associated with change as was the case in our own Civil War and in many countries where dictators and oppressive governments have been overthrown.

One of the most important legacies of the civil rights movement in the US is that with relatively little bloodshed our country was able to change the laws that enslaved many African Americans and to diminish (but regrettably not eliminate) the culture of racism. Yes, lives were lost, and many people were harmed; but it could have been a lot worse. The reason it was not a lot worse was due in large part to the principle of non violence, which was at the heart of the civil rights movement . The non violent aspect of the movement was one of the main reasons Embry and I were motivated to head down to Southwest Georgia in 1966. That non-violence was being questioned by some in SNCC and, at the time, was both disconcerting and frightening to us and is one of the themes in my book.

So how do you bring about change to correct injustice in a non-violent way? How do you avoid the collateral damage that is so often associated with change? Strong leadership is part of the answer–and we had that in the civil rights movement with Martin Luther King Jr, John Lewis and others as described in Civil Rights Journey. But it often takes more than that. It takes a lot of people –ordinary people—joining a movement and doing small things to make a difference. These things begin to add up and tip the balance. But there is always the risk that the movement could get out of hand and turn in a wrong direction. That is the risk of trying to bring about change for the better.

A Touching Description of “Civil Rights Journey”

Posted on September 28, 2011 by jhowell

Words can’t express how thankful I am for the outpouring of support I’ve received. Below are kind words from Janet Hampton.

“As I was reading Civil Rights Journey I found myself becoming totally captivated by the story that it conveyed. So many aspects of it resonated with me and brought forth feelings and emotions that I experienced during the years that it portrays. The depth and complexity of Joe Howell’s Nashville, revealed from the perspective of his life within his family and community, fleshed out the essence that was absent from my personal experience in that city as a student (when I was sixteen to eighteen years old) at Fisk University. It introduced me to a community that I never had the opportunity to know. With the exception of a few exchange students from Oberlin and a few international students at Fisk, my social contact with the white world was limited to a few Fisk professors and a handful of Vanderbilt students who were members of the Newman Club. On reflection it amazes me just how totally and methodically institutionalized segregation was at that time. The separation of races (and classes) could not have been more precise and decisive (and impassive?) if the scalpel of a skilled surgeon had brought it about.

Civil Rights Journey is an account of a young man’s coming of age, a young man shaped early in life by the crucibles of polio and segregation (both by decree and by custom) and later by that of the civil rights movement. Joe Howell’s story depicts the effects of human vulnerability and of human cruelty. The lingering effects of polio made him at times the object of bullying and derision, perhaps thus increasing his sensitivity to such cruelties manifested in the system of segregation. The reader shares the hopes, doubts, and at times despair that form Joe as he tries to wrest meaning from his experiences and determine what his path in life should be. Along his path Joe encounters and tries to reconcile the complexities and contradictions of the philosophies of members of SNCC and the Black Panthers, as well as those of his seminary colleagues and other volunteers who participated in that civil rights summer. The structure of this memoir is enhanced by the voice of Embry Howell, Joe’s wife. It complements Joe’s well. The thread of her voice is woven into the fabric of Joe’s story in the account of the civil rights summer that they shared, adding a richness of texture to that account. The story of the Holt family, also, is a compelling part of the memoir. It enriches the narrative. The Holts were a black family who embraced the Howells and added to their understanding of the reality not only of segregation in their community of Albany, Georgia, but also of injustices across our nation. Their story is a vivid portrait of the complexity of the black experience. The reader comes to know and care about the Holts and is inspired by the outcome of their story.

Civil Rights Journey offers the reader a multilayered account of a young man born in the pre–civil rights South, sheltered by a code of customs that privileged the white middle class at the expense of blacks and poor whites, and of his formation and moral development shaped by the crucible of his civil rights journey.”

-Janet Hampton, January 2011

Search for Meaning and Purpose in Life

Posted on September 26, 2011 by jhowell

Joe & Embry Howell

Civil Rights Journey is about growing up. It is about how a kid from a prominent Nashville family marched to a different drum beat—according to my reflections anyway— due in large part to having suffered with polio as a child, which caused him to identify with the underdog and people not part of the American mainstream.

Part of the experience of growing up is having to come to terms with the way the world is and the fact that it is far from perfect. In a perfect world, Africans would never have become slaves in the United States. There would never have been the period of Jim Crow. In the 1950s and 1960s when the story takes place, African Americans would have enjoyed equal status with whites and would have been able to get good jobs, live in nice homes in good, safe, integrated neighborhoods, go to good schools and have enough money left over for a nice meal out or a vacation. And then and now, there would not be big differences in income and financial wealth for all people. Families would be loving and strong.

In a perfect world, there would not be any wars or illness or suffering. And there certainly would not have been polio, striking down innocent kids in the 1950s.

But we do not live in a perfect world, and each of us in our own way has to come to grips with this fact and that, in all too short a period of time, we die. These are themes that run through Civil Rights Journey and give it a dimension beyond simply being a story of historical interest.

There is no silver bullet which answers these questions. Some people turn to religion, others to philosophy and some try to sweep these big questions under the rug. One message I think that comes out of the book is that jumping into the fray, trying in your own modest way to make a difference, to make the imperfect world just a little bit better, provides–if not an answer to the questions of meaning and purpose–a kind of meaning in itself. When you are in the fight, when you are engaged, when you are struggling for what you know is right, you magically discover that meaning is not inaccessible after all.