Dec. 30, 2009 — Gone With the Wind

This month marked anniversary number 70 of the premiere of Gone with the Wind.

The movie opened with great fanfare in Atlanta. The city was segregated, so the movie’s African-American stars could not attend the gala. But the performers at the party included an all-black boys choir from Ebenezer Baptist Church. One member was the 7-year-old son of the choir director, a boy named Martin Luther King Jr.

I wonder what Dr. King would tell us if he were here to remember that night 70 years ago. Perhaps he would remind us that hope and faith are more powerful than any injustice, and that love and non-violence can turn a cause into a spiritual movement.

Just a thought. I'm Sid Batts from First Presbyterian Church in downtown Greensboro, fpcgreensboro.org.