Benjamin Thomas. He was a 16-year-old boy who was lynched in Alexandria, Va., on Aug. 8, 1899. Exactly 125 years later, I delivered remarks honoring him and explaining how the racism at the root of his lynching remains with us today. The title of the speech was: “Why the ‘Parental Rights’ Movement is Anti-Civil Rights.”
The remembrance event was all the more moving because it took place at Shiloh Baptist Church, the same Black church where 20 days after Benjamin’s lynching, 600 mourners gathered to say goodbye and commit themselves to protesting stores owned by persons who had taken part in the lynching. Since the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project is a city-wide initiative, I appreciated the event sponsors going out of their way to explain in the program that “[t]his is a secular program being held in a worship center due to its historical connection and importance to the story of Benjamin Thomas.”
This was an important opportunity for AU for many reasons. Virginia is a hotbed of the anti-freedom “parental rights” movement — a crusade that bans books, censors curricula and creates an atmosphere where Black and Brown children, children who are LGBTQ+ or from LGBTQ+ families, and other children from marginalized groups are being marked as unworthy of being seen and heard in our public spaces. The event provided AU the opportunity to expose the true nature of the “parental rights” movement. My remarks drew a line connecting the white fragility that led to Benjamin’s lynching and the white Christian fragility driving today’s white Christian Nationalist movement, of which the “parental rights” movement is part.
AU must continue to find opportunities to partner with and listen to Black Christians and Black and Brown people from other faith and non-faith traditions. Our church-state separation movement continues to be majority white, even as our country heads toward being majority Black and Brown. If we are going to realize the promise of our name, Americans United, we have work to do in order to better connect with Black and Brown communities.
My favorite moments on the job continue to be those that bring us together across our differences to fight for an inclusive America. Tropical Storm Debby brought a lot of rain the night of Benjamin’s memorial, but it didn’t stop a wonderful diversity of people from showing up. We were Black and white, older and younger and from a variety of different sectors. A highlight was when the pastor’s 7-year-old daughter told me she liked my remarks and asked if we could take a selfie.
An impressive array of government officials attended, including the current and former Alexandria mayors, the acting chief of police, the first African American director of the Alexandria library system, the director of the Office of Historic Alexandria, the director of the Division of African American History, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) leader from Alexandria City Public Schools and the head of Alexandria’s social studies curriculum, among others.
Many faith leaders from a variety of traditions were also present. As we all swayed together and sang the old civil rights song “We Shall Overcome,” I bet I wasn’t the only person with tears trickling down my cheeks.
I was honored to be doing the important work of remembering this young man and his heinous murder, as painful as that was, because owning the truth is critical to healing and moving forward as a society. I appreciated the opportunity to exhort people to turn their grief into action to advance an America where Benjamin Thomas and all children can thrive. You can be sure that one of the actions I recommended was to join AU.
Later that evening, the event’s professional photographer generously emailed me a few of his photos so we could include them in AU’s “Week in Review” email. The pictures were terrific, but his note, which he gave me permission to share, really touched me: “Thank you for your wonderful speech tonight. It resonated with me more than I expected it to because one of my daughters is trans. While Fairfax County Schools have been very supportive, the pressure of ‘parents’ rights’ from [Virginia Gov. Glenn] Youngkin has been clear and increasing.” In my email back, I thanked him for sharing that and encouraged him to join AU.
His next message read: “I did join AU. It seems like a golden organization.”
Thanks, everyone, for helping to make AU the golden, impactful organization it needs to be today.
Rachel K. Laser is president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.