Selma, Alabama

My first visit to Selma AL was in 1962-three years before that city gained everlasting fame as the site of the Bloody Sunday racial confrontation at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, one of the sparks that ignited the entire civil rights movement in America. I was there to visit Concordia College-an institution of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The Board for Lutheran Higher Education knew that I was putting together a school system in Hong Kong and they wondered what lessons that experience might bring to the development of black schools in the South of the USA.

Concordia Selma had been established already in 1922. While it was called “college” my memory is that it served only students in grades 8-12 with a few in the first two years of college.

I spent the day visiting classes, meeting withy students and eating lunch and diner together in the dormitory dining room. At the end of the day I was in overwhelm. I was deeply disturbed and saddened at the very low academic level of the students-in spite of the extraordinary commitments of their teachers. Then I was very upset by the amount and quality of the food. I knew that the students in “my” schools in Hong Kong had much higher academic achievement-and even though they were poor refugees their daily meals were so much better than my new friends at this school

 As mentioned above this was not due to a lack of commitment of the teachers-nor even of the desire to learn of the students. It is just that the elementary school education was of such inferior quality that good high school/college work was exceedingly difficult.

I walked through the town. Even then I noted that well over half of the population was poor black. Now the percentage of the Selma population, which is black, has reached 80%

The President of the College was Walter Ellwanger a most remarkable man. He was deeply committed to racial equality; his family had helped found the Lutheran Human Relations Association, the first formal group in the Lutheran church advocating for our black brother and sisters. Dr. Ellwanger and his wife spent almost 20 years at this school and he did it all: taught, managed the dorms, raised the money, maintained discipline and even directed the choir. I will never forget that choir practice. Even though this was an all-black school the songs all seemed to be English translations from old German tunes and chorales. The choir was good, but somehow or other their mood just wasn’t right. And then at 9:30 pm Dr. Ellwanger announced, “And now, as always, we will close with the Negro National Anthem.” And with that the choir plunged into “Lift Every Voice and Sung.” The music got louder, the harmony deeper, the spirit moving, and the emotion transforming. I hear it and feel it to this day

I also remember my experience after that late choir practice. I went to the home of the President, a distinguished old southern mini-mansion. I was assigned an upstairs bedroom. There I finished readying the novel, which had been engrossing me: “To Kill A Mocking Bird”

The next day I met with the legendary Rosa Young who must have been in her eighties. Here was a woman with an unmatched devotion to black children in the south. She knew that the public schools were not available to many of them. The quality of their black schools was a shame. She started a whole group of 18 or more church-related black schools in Lutheran congregations and there, using all black teachers, she provided basic literacy for kids for whom this was otherwise unavailable.

(Side note: I visited one such school outside Mobile. I noticed that some children did not even have their own desk-and were sitting on the floor using a church pew for the writing surface. Fifty years later a distinguished educator Dr Vernon Gandt   delivered a talk at a national convention of educators. After his lecture we spoke. I learned that he was one of those students who used that church pew as his desk- and went on from there to a distinguished career after earning his doctorate.

Today Concordia in Selma is a fully accredited university of excellent reputation and even awarding doctorates in education.

Now and in the last decades many of the products of that Concordia in Selma have provided lay and professional leadership for the church and they are one of the reasons that that branch of the Lutheran church has more black among its membership and leadership that any other Lutheran group. Persistence, education and overcoming adversity continue to reap rich rewards!

Beirut, Lebanon

My memories of my time in Beirut, Lebanon are all positive and strong with an undertow of emotions calling me to return. The year was 1968 and I was on my way to chair a conference on Lutheran Education around the world. The Conference was to be held in Hong Kong and on my way there I visited educational institutions in Europe and Asia, with Beirut being a highlight.

One of the things that made it so memorable was my guide. He was an Arab who was native, had converted to Christianity and was very insightful into the history and the special dynamic of that centuries-old domain called Lebanon.

He gave me a wonderful tour of the city of Beirut: the harbor overlooking the tranquil Mediterranean is breath taking. The drive through the countryside down to the historic Tyre and Sidon plunges one into Biblical history. The well preserved as well as the abandoned fortresses of the Crusades pointed to a darker time of humanity’s inability to live peacefully among people of different faiths. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to visit the majestic Cedars of Lebanon.

My host explained some of the unique features of life in Lebanon. Then, as now, representation in the governments is on a rationed basis. Seats and offices are divided up in the same proportion as the faiths represented-, presently Christianity, Islam and Judaism. When I was there Christianity actually was entitled to a small majority of positions. Now Islam is dominant, just about equally divided between Sunni and Shiites.

After returning from Tyre and Sidon we spent several hours on the beautiful campus of The American University. Originally established by Christian missionaries it continues to be a seat of higher learning for people of all faiths. The tree-lined campus is home to many professors from America and some of them graciously hosted me for stimulating conversations.

The highlight of the visit came when it was time to eat. We sat in a gorgeous restaurant at the very edge of the sea. We were eating the meal long ordained as the official repast of the country: mezze. There must be a minimum of 30 dishes. They just kept arriving. There were items that looked like tapas from Spain and anti-pasta from Italy, multicolored dishes of vegetables, fruit, meat, tealeaves, sea creatures and plants. Delicious, every one of them and all washed down by arak, the anise flavored liquor of the region.

Tragically, the history of Beirut and Lebanon has seen painful and dark days since I was last there. War with Israel. The worst disaster for US Marines since WW II as 285 were killed in an attack by a suicide bomber (which resulted in President Reagan ordering all US troops out of Lebanon in 1983). Recently the militant Islamic group Hezbollah has established a strong presence. And now Lebanon is caught up in the Syrian revolution and coping with sectarian violence and an avalanche of refugees.

My heart goes out to the people of Beirut. Even as I reflect upon their current struggles I have wonderful memories of a warm people who love their country and are models of hospitality that I would do well to emulate.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

[This is a continuation of a series on cities which I have visited or in which I have lived.]

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The late 1960’s and early 70’s was a great time to live in Ann Arbor Michigan. It was a typical university city full of the then current unrest. Students were in protest. Young men went without shaving and young women without bras. I went with my teen-aged son David to my first (and only rock concert) where marijuana  smoke filled the air.

I was Superintendent of the 117 Lutheran elementary and high schools in the state. Our office became “occupied” by a group of black activists who insisted they would not leave until they were paid several million dollars in “reparations’ for past injustices. We dialogued with them, served them coffee, assured them no money was forthcoming but that we would stay with them as long as they stayed. My memory is that well before 10:00 pm they had decided to “call it a day”. They left and they never returned.

But for all of us it was time to reassess our ministry to and with our black brothers and sisters. Dr. Pete Pero who was serving in Detroit and his black allies taught me a lot.  There were 17 Lutheran schools within the city limits of Detroit, some of them with all-black enrollments. Those teachers, students and parents were patient with me, accepted me and broadened my horizons.

My memories of the principals across the State are very positive. While the schools of Detroit may have had very diverse student bodies the schools in places like Bach or Frankenmuth were still all-white and often all Lutheran. Interestingly one of the things I remember of those days 40 years ago is that the State highway department did an incredible job of keeping all highways open during snow storms and I do not recall ever having to cancel a school visit because of weather!

It was a great time to be politically active, especially in the interest of school choice. I helped form the Michigan Association of Non-Public Schools, sat on a special Education Committee of the State Senate, was invited to meet with President Nixon, and served as Vice-president of the now defunct Citizens for Educational Freedom. One of the great joys of all this was that I had two associates,  Don Kell and Roland Boehnke and the three of us together with our aide, Elinor Donohue,  were always challenging and supporting each other into new ways of thinking and acting.

We lived in Ann Arbor for only four years but that was enough time to learn to know its excellent restaurants and friendly bars where Lutheran principals(all except one were male!) could gather, drink a few beer together and sing songs to our hearts content. The University of Michigan football stadium was the site of some great football fetes and the frozen feet of a whole den of boy scouts whom I took there. The memory of that university may have played a role years later when our daughter  Elizabeth returned there to earn her Ph. D

Ann Arbor - a good place of fond memories and intellectual growth.