The slavery suffered by blacks in the American south stands as the most vicious brand of enslavement the world has ever seen and a lesson for future generations, the Rev. Walter Fauntroy of the New Bethel Baptist Church said Friday.
"It was based on the destruction of the family," Fauntroy said, during a program honoring Black History Month in the Arlington County Board Room. "The family is the schoolroom where we learn to care for, defend and protect each other. African Americans were stood on the auction block and sold away from their families. You might ask why. The reason is that those who enslaved us didn't want us to be able to care for, protect and defend each other."
Slavery's legacy, he added, must not be forgotten.
"It is important we review black history for all people in America," Fauntroy said. "This extended family that is the United States needs to remember slavery and how short it fell of its words (in the Constitution)."
A former member of Congress and a lifelong religious leader, Fauntroy represented Martin Luther King Jr. in the Kennedy and Johnson White Houses during the 1960s. He later helped to organize King's historic March on Washington. In the political arena, Fauntroy advocated for improved health care and programs aimed at benefiting the poor. King's work, he said, was a source of inspiration.
"He wanted to move our nation to the high ground of the principles we so often enunciate but struggle to follow," he said.
The fight for social justice and equality, Fauntroy added, benefits the entire community.
"EITHER WE will learn to live together as brothers and sisters on this planet or we will perish together as fools," he said, paraphrasing King’s words. "I take care of my neighbor, but I do it in self-defense. If my neighbor does not have justice, guess who will feel the weight of his anger and his despair."
Yet the cause of equal rights, he said, must be carried forth to this day.
"The best way to repay your debt to the past is to make the future indebted to you," Fauntroy said. "There's something wrong with the system. There is still great work to be done, and it starts with the family."
Fauntroy later led the assembled crowd in a rendition of "I Believe the Children Are Our Future," which received a standing ovation. The event featured a dance performance along with appearances from local pastors and church leaders. Public television station WETA also gave a showing of its latest documentary on slavery, which includes a segment on Freedman's Village, a camp of freed slaves established in Arlington during the late 1800s.
"I can remember the stories my parents and grandparents told of Freedman's Village," said Leon Henderson, pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church "Just reflecting on those sends chills down my spine."
Fauntroy was honored with a special recognition from Arlington County presented by Don Green, a member of the Black History Month Planning Committee. Fauntroy's work in the civil rights movement and as a politician is directly tied to the success of Arlington's diverse population.
"The diversity here is phenomenal," he said. "You just have to walk from the County Manager's Office to the County Board Room to the people working on the streets to see that."