Juanita Brown has been asked to speak at an academic symposium on “Reflection and Democracy” in Chicago early next month. The following is an excerpt from the reflection paper she wrote in preparation, the first and most personal of three little stories about conversation and civic engagement that couldn’t be more timely:<\/p>\n
“<\/em>Democracy begins in human conversation. The simplest, least threatening investment any citizen can make in democratic renewal is to begin talking with other people, asking the questions, and knowing that their answers matter.<\/em>”
\n~William Greider, Who Will Tell the People<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nI remember as a child in Miami, Florida our home was always alive with conversations.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t just any kind of conversations.\u00a0 They were conversations about the \u201cbig questions\u201d\u2014questions of justice, democracy, and civil rights. They were conversations about philosophical issues, social action, and campaigns to elect public officials who had integrity and guts.\u00a0 From those early conversations the civil liberties movement in Florida was born, nurtured, and grew into a potent force for decency and fairness at a time of great turmoil in the South.<\/p>\n
How did that happen?\u00a0 How did my parents and a small group of kindred spirits find each other, begin to reflect on their democratic ideals, find the courage to survive cross-burnings, ostracism, and opposition, while nourishing friendships imbued with a spirit of community and commitment that have lasted a lifetime.<\/p>\n
My dad, Harold Cowan, is 90 years old. My mom, Millie, is 87.\u00a0 They came to Miami in the 1940\u2019s from an immigrant ghetto in South Philadelphia.\u00a0 Recently we filmed them talking about those days and the seminal role in their lives of the \u201cJefferson Club,\u201d named for the Jeffersonian ideal of participatory democracy. My mom, Millie Cowan, spoke of the impetus for the Jefferson Club with the same passion she\u2019s demonstrated for more than half a century:<\/p>\n
“Right on the street in Miami where my sister lived they had signs that said No Negroes, Jews, or Dogs Allowed.\u00a0 And at the beaches there were signs that said all blacks had to get off the beach before dark or they would be subject to arrest.\u00a0 Can you imagine? We were very, very shocked and very incensed. It was also the McCarthy period and they were going after known liberals.\u00a0 We found out that the Unitarian Church had a social action committee, and we began to meet others who were also concerned about what was going on.<\/em><\/p>\n
That\u2019s when the Jefferson Club started.\u00a0 It was primarily a discussion group that met every other week in various people\u2019s homes. We would assign a question or issue and people would bring in readings they thought illuminated the subject.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t always political. Sometimes it was philosophical.\u00a0 We had questions like \u201cWhat is happiness? But more often than not, it turned to the political things that were happening in Miami.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
My dad continued:<\/p>\n
“Those conversations were very inspiring.\u00a0 They raised me to a different level of thinking.\u00a0 The Jefferson Club made me start thinking about things outside of my own survival.\u00a0 And, being very pragmatic I said, hell, let\u2019s start doing something about it!\u00a0 The Jefferson Club became a nucleus for social action in the community, so when an issue came up, you didn\u2019t have to form an organization.\u00a0 The people and the friendships were already there. All you had to do was make a few phone calls and you had a ready made organizing committee. We each supported the others\u2019 efforts. It was really a miraculous thing.<\/em>“<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
My mother added:<\/p>\n
“And it was during that period in the 1950\u2019s that we founded the first local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida. Today, fifty years later it\u2019s still going strong with a lot of brilliant and wonderful young people\u2013\u2013 young leaders who are working so hard to keep our democracy alive.\u00a0 We\u2019ve seen tremendous social change take place over the years.\u00a0 All I can say is that we\u2019ve had a lot of fun being involved with all these community betterment activities.\u00a0 We\u2019ve enjoyed the most wonderful and meaningful relationships as a result of the Jefferson Club days with people who really had a lot of heart and cared about everyone having a voice<\/em>.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
That was a key theme of my youth … the people\u2019s democratic voice and our responsibility as citizens to keep our democracy alive.\u00a0 From leafleting in political campaigns, to creating social and legal services for poor people, to enduring cross burnings on our lawn because my parents invited African-Americans to our home\u2013-I knew that the Jefferson Club readings and conversations I overheard in my parents living room, the thoughtful reflection that was integral to their discussions, and the committed actions my family and their friends took were because democracy was not a distant ideal. Rather democracy was a tender, vulnerable, living \u201cbeing\u201d that needed nurturing and protection by those who loved her.<\/p>\n