Civil Rights, Religious and Congressional Leaders Join in Vigil for Tolerance and Healing
On Oct. 26, 2001, prominent leaders from the civil rights, religious and congressional communities joined together at a vigil for community, tolerance and healing. It was held at the new National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism, a memorial in Washington to the thousands of Japanese persons who were moved from their homes on the west coast to "internment camps" during World War II in the name of national security. The choice of location for the vigil served as a poignant reminder that we must not allow fear to subvert our Constitution and undermine the liberties that define what it is to be American. The message of the vigil was simple: In times of war as well as in times of peace, we are all one America, bound together by the freedoms and values codified in the Constitution.
Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, a sponsor of the vigil, welcomed the diverse crowd and likened their unified presence to the nation as a whole. "Those who attacked America hope we will respond with fear and divisiveness," Henderson said. "But Americans are showing we are braver and better than that. In New York City, in Washington, D.C., and all across this country, we are standing together and standing united."
Other sponsors of the vigil included the Justice Department's community relations service, the National Council of Churches, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the American Muslim Council and the Sikh Council on Religion and Education.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) focused on the most precious of constitutional rights--those that are embodied in the First Amendment to the Constitution. "Trial by fire can refine us or it can coarsen us. If we hold to our ideals and values, then it will strengthen us. Americans are united and all the free world, all civilized nations, all caring people join together with us."
Sen. Leahy continued "I trust that we will seek and serve justice and demonstrate to the world not only by our resolve but by our commitment to our constitutional principles that the United States remains strong even in the face of these terrorist atrocities." Sen. Leahy had spent the day debating an anti-terrorism bill proposed by Attorney General John Ashcroft, which would expand wire-tapping and surveillance powers and allow for the detention of immigrants suspected of terrorist activities, a bill that many fear will go too far in restricting civil liberties.
Other speakers, including Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Ralph Boyd, emphasized that our unity and our diversity are our greatest strengths. Several of the speakers warned of the dangers of scapegoating and stereotyping.
The chairperson of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Dr. Dorothy I. Height of the National Council of Negro Women, called on Americans to work together. "Six decades ago, Americans found a new measure of unity in responding to the attack on Pearl Harbor. After we defeated fascism on three continents, we went to work eradicating racism here at home," she said. "We need to continue that work and not turn our anger on our neighbors, particularly Arab Americans, because of their ethnic origin."
Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, offered a prayer consisting of quotes from children's prayers in the aftermath of the attack. The children asked for peace, for protection for themselves and their families, and for the Arabs in their classrooms and communities. These prayers of compassion moved many in the audience to tears, and reminded the crowd that justice, not vengeance, is what the hearts and laws of America and the world demand. The vigil closed in an atmosphere of unity and harmony with a candle lighting ceremony and the song, "Let There Be Peace on Earth."
