In a sermon punctuated by laughter, applause, and poignant silence, the Rt Revd Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop-elect of the Episcopal Church, fired up attendees at the 19th Annual Jonathan Daniels and Martyrs of Alabama Pilgrimage in Hayneville, AL, on August 15th.
Fifty years ago this August 20, Daniels, a young Episcopal seminarian, was murdered in Hayneville, Ala., while participating in the civil rights movement. The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia will remember and reflect on this remarkable man on Sunday, August 16 — the Sunday nearest the anniversary of his death.
The award is presented by the VMI Board of Visitors in honor of Daniels, a native of Keene, N.H. Daniels was valedictorian of the VMI Class of 1961 and as a seminarian at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., was killed while saving the life of African-American teenager Ruby Sales during the violent struggle for civil rights in Haynesville, Ala., in 1965.
Together with Episcopalians across the church, I call on President Obama and Congress to move quickly to pass legislation, consistent with the court’s decision, that will ensure the protection of equal voting rights for all Americans. We will not rest until the legacy of Daniels, Marshall, and thousands of other Episcopalians who fought with them is secure.
Today we remember Thurgood Marshall, Lawyer and Jurist who died in 1993 who, along with other Episcopalians, Jonathan Daniels and the Rev. Pauli Murray, blazed a trail of freedom witnessing to Christ along the way.