The cry for freedom’s echoes: From Selma to Gaza By Lisa D. Bender in the Patriot News Jul. 31, 2025

Martin Luther King, Jr. and civil rights marchers cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., heading for the capitol in Montgomery, Ala., March 21, 1965. (AP Photo, File)AP

Guest Editorial 

By Lisa D. Bender

“Freedom is a constant struggle,” sang Rutha Mae Harris in Albany, Ga., during the recent Civil Rights Journey sponsored by the Susquehanna Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Harris, an original Freedom Singers, bellowed out inspiring gospel music from the Civil Rights Movement.

Walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., we imagined we were with John Lewis. We heard his words: “Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society.”

In Birmingham, we remembered the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

I heard the words about the struggle for freedom of Black Americans and recalled the cries of many oppressed people. I heard the cries of Gazans being starved and bombed, and stories of those in the West Bank, Palestine who face attacks from Israeli settlers.

Slavery in the United States ended in 1865. The Israeli occupation of Palestine has not ended.

Persecution of Black Americans has continued for decades. Palestinian people have suffered many of the same indignities for the past 77 years.

Over 4,000 lynchings of Black Americans have been documented in the United States. Over 60,000 Gazans have been killed by Israeli bombs, drones and snipers in the past 21 months. Over 180 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank this year.... READ MORE https://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2025/07/the-cry-for-freedoms-echoes-from-selma-to-gaza-opinion.html

 AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]