Peter Robinson
Will Greensboro now accept the test oi change?
(The following remarks are this is tragic.
| based on a sermon delivered at j think of the resistance of our
St. Francis Episcopal Church community 1.1. years .ago when
recently ,by the Reverend Mr. four s t u d e n t rTrom A&T
I Robinson, its rector. The editors University sat at a lunch count-
I of the Daily News believe they er and asked to lbe serVed. The
I should reach a community audi-
1 ence as well.)
Several decades ago an
I international group of fi-
Inanciers and engineers un-
I dertook to drain Lake Mat-
Greensboro ■
plosive. Tragedy was averted
only by the greatest leadership
from the students,! the police
and our mayor and council. But
great price in terms
tamuskeet in t h e eastern of Ioss t0 the business c
•- legal fees and in other
tried to blunt this
■ part of North Carolina. In
I so doing they hoped to de-
Ivelop some of the best
■ farmland in the world and
■ make a lot of money. Mil-
I lions of dollars were spent
I and the developers tasted
before the project
I ended in bankruptcy. The
I inexorable forces of nature
i too great even for the
I elaborate system of dams
I and canals and the enor-
i pumps. The lake re*
I filled with water and a
I dream was destroyed.
To make this effort for a
I project which would help ad-
I vance the cause of man was
(commendable. However, we of-
spend our energy, resources
I and money in a futile effort to
■ thwart the inexorable tide of
i,social change and justice and
demand for rights and circumvent its intention in the future.
Something in the soul of Greensboro died at this time.
Subsequent events have shown
that our efforts to resist were as
futile as the efforts to hold back
the tide of underground water at
I hope we have learned some-' Rev. Peter Robinson
thing. However,' sometimes I
feel that our community is suf- believe in our school system
fering from, a severe case of must step forward and be count-
paranoia which nurtures fear of ed — must be prepared to pay
the very worst and most demon- the price,
ic nature. No one knows what the dispo-
At the moment our public sition of the court will be. We
schools are at a most critical may be sure that it will cause
turning point. I believe in our inconvenience and problems for
public schools. They have con- most of us. I hope that it will
tributed as much to the great- not be as disruptive as many
ness of our nation as any insti- fear.
tution .in our society. But the However, it is our school
time has come when those who board and our courts which are
making every effort to support
our law and our Con Litutii n
With our support and determination to resolve this situation in
the best possible way for all
concerned, our schools can
emerge much stronger in resources to meet the great needs
of our time.
We sometimes forget that all
responsible parents, black or
white, have the same desire for
the best possible education for
their children. The unknown is
frightening to all of us. Parents,
white and black, are reluctant
to' see their own children in
strange surroundings, are con:
cerned about how their children
will be treated. No one likes the
excessive- use of buses. Black
parents have disliked this for
The time is approaching when
we show whether or not we
have learned from the past. It is
my hope that in a very positive
way the citizens of Greensboro
can find that they all have
common goals and common interest and that we work together in support of our courts and
our school officials.
I speak as a father, as a
citizen and also as one convinced that our Biblical heritage
demands that we express a genuine concern for each other and
that we honestly begin to love
our neighbors as ourselves.
A voice at Page
An editorial in the Page High I
School newspaper has much to
say to the adults of Greensboro.
While it deals with a particular
proposal to ensure more representative student government, it
also speaks to the larger issue:
"The proposals that were presented are not intended to be
the answer to all of Page's
representation problems. Yet
they reflect the realization that
situations are changing, and
that Page is aware that changes
are needed. ... It is necessary I
to experiment. One cannot say |
that neither proposal would |
work without trying one. Perhaps, neither plan is the answer,
but we will never know unless I
we are willing to accept
changes. In a n y event, these J
proposals could be the beginning f
toward solving our problems.
The question is, are we willing I
to initiate and accept change?" I
This is the challenge to I
Greensboro in 1971. Do we rec- I
ognize change? Do we accept I
change? Are we willing to expe-1
riment and take steps that offer I
a possibility of solving our prob-_
lems?
We cannot hold the waters of _|
justice back. But the waters c
justice can bring new life brtoB
our schools and our community. ■
