The Law According to Moses
Reading: The Key to Freedom
OhioMBE – July 1, 2014
By Ambrose Moses, III
America still has work to do in the area of legal, social, and economic justice for all. One pressing question for us in 2014, is whether there is a need for what Martin Luther King called “direct action” and what Malcolm X referred to as “shaking things up”?
I believe the clear answer is, “Yes!” But, both of these men employed a strategy that involved a thorough analysis and understanding of the situation before acting. You can’t just run into the street demonstrating without knowing what your goals and objectives are or understanding why you are doing it. Hence, there is a need for you to read in order to learn and understand the circumstances at hand. (Growing up, I remember hearing PSAs touting “Reading is fundamental”. It was true then. It is true now.)
In 1964, Freedom Summer involved the Freedom Rides, sit-ins, and other powerful demonstrations and sacrifices that were made by black and white Americans who believed in America’s stated promise of equal justice under law and that everyone was entitled to their inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This necessary agitation and direct action culminated and led to the enactment of necessary civil rights legislation.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 are landmark pieces of civil rights legislation in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. (Thus, the laws benefitted more than African Americans.) The laws ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public (known as “public accommodations”) and prohibited racial discrimination in voting. Designed to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 allowed for a mass enfranchisement of racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South.
While these laws were important legal accomplishments, their mere existence is not the sole solution to the problem. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.
In 2014, it is important that Americans continue the pursuit of legal, social, and economic justice for all. While there are many things that are symptomatic of the problems. I submit to you that one of the key areas we must address is reading.
Reading and understanding are essential to freedom and to being vigilant about keeping one’s freedom. Sagging pants, inappropriate selfies, and a party-all-the-time mentality are definitely problems, but reading may be the key to understanding why such inappropriate behavior is, well, inappropriate. There are tech devices, computers, and smartphones everywhere. There is access to information and primary sources. But one has to take the time to read and understand.
Reading allows you to visit and learn from historical places, events, and people. In addition, reading gives you access to the laws, rules, decisions, policy statements, and more, that are relevant to one’s understanding of and vigilance over keeping one’s freedom.
So, as you engage in Freedom Summer 2014, let’s read.
Ambrose Moses, III is an attorney with Moses Law Office. Email: info@MosesLaw.pro. Telephone: (614) 418-7898.
