Debate
add a link
A Texas minister set himself on moto and died to ‘inspire’ justice
A Texas minister set himself on moto and died to ‘inspire’ justice
Moore had “a conviction that if the Bible stood for anything, it stood for radical inclusiveness. If wewe ever were on the side of powerlessness, if wewe were ever on the margins yourself... Charles was the person [to help you].”
maneno muhimu: debate, politics, reverend charles moore, social justice, suicide, self-immolation, human rights, racism, discrimination, lgbtq
|
I remember visiting this website once...
It was called A Texas minister set himself on moto and died to ‘inspire’ justice - The Washington Post
Here's some stuff I remembered seeing:
A Texas minister set himself on fire and died to ‘inspire’ justice
Rev. Charles Moore. (Courtesy of the Moore family)
One Monday in June, 79-year-old Charles Moore, a retired United Methodist minister, drove to Grand Saline, Tex., his childhood home town some 70 miles east of Dallas. He pulled into a strip mall parking lot, knelt down on a small piece of foam and doused himself with gasoline.
Bystanders rushed to help, splashing him with bottled water and beating the blaze with shirts. Finally, someone found a fire extinguisher. Unconscious, he was flown to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, where JFK died. Moore died that night, June 23.
Moore’s death seemed a mystery. He put a note on his car and left behind letters explaining his act, said a former colleague and relative by marriage, the Rev. Bill Renfro, but his writings were not released for nearly a week. His thoughts are now becoming public.
The Tyler Morning Telegraph obtained a copy of the suicide note from Grand Saline police. In it, Moore lamented past racism in Grand Saline and beyond. He called on the community to repent and said he was “giving my body to be burned, with love in my heart” for those who were lynched in his home town as well as for those who did the lynching, hoping to address lingering racism.
In his letters, obtained by The Washington Post, he called his death an act of protest. He said he felt that after a lifetime of fighting for social justice, he needed to do more.
“I would much prefer to go on living and enjoy my beloved wife and grandchildren and others,” he wrote, “but I have come to believe that only my self-immolation will get the attention of anybody and perhaps inspire some to higher service.”
“It would have been nice to have had some sort of counseling, somebody to point out that his life had mattered, that he hadn’t failed,” Renfro told the United Methodist News Service. “He had done plenty.”
Moore had gone on a two-week hunger strike in the 1990s to move the United Methodist Church to remove discriminatory language against homosexuals. While working with the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, he stood vigil in front of George W. Bush’s governor’s mansion to protest more than 100 executions. He served in the slums of India, Africa and the Middle East.
Moore had “a conviction that if the Bible stood for anything, it stood for radical inclusiveness,” the Rev. Sid Hall, a former colleague, told the Dallas Morning News. “If you ever were on the side of powerlessness, if you were ever on the margins yourself and were looking for someone to help you, Charles was the person.”
“I have no significant achievements to offer from that period so that my influence on contemporary issues might have a significant impact,” he wrote, “so I am laying down my life here today, in order to call attention to issues of great human concern.” He seemed particularly disturbed by capital punishment, racial discrimination, prejudice against the LGBT community.
Since his death, some news accounts described him as a man who seemed troubled. One asked if he was a “madman or a martyr.”
“There is one thing I have absolute control over: that is, the manner of my death,” he wrote. “History will decide whether my offering is worthy.”
Moore explained that his death was not an impulsive act, but one to which he had given great thought. Renfro told The Post that Moore left behind a copy of a New Yorker article entitled “Aflame.” It was about the Tibetan Buddhist monks’ protest of China’s domination of Tibet. They, too, set themselves on fire.
“I’m not sure an act like that is as meaningful to other people as he thought it would be,” Renfro said. “I think he became convinced it was an act that would be essential to get the word out. I wish I could have talked him out of it. … I just accept what he did and his reasons and, hopefully, they will have meaning and effect change.”
Moore grew up in Grand Saline, a town he said dripped with racial discrimination — a town the Ku Klux Klan called home. In his letter, he seemed haunted by the past:
“When I was about 10 years old, some friends and I were walking down the road toward the creek to catch some fish, when a man called ‘Uncle Billy’ stopped us and called us into his home for a drink of water — but his real purpose was to cheerily tell us about helping to kill ‘n—–s’ and put their heads up on a pole. A section of Grande Saline was (maybe still is) called ‘pole town,’ where the heads were displayed. It was years later before I knew what the name meant.”
It was this type of racial discrimination that Moore said haunted him.
“I will soon be eighty years old, and my heart is broken over this,” he wrote. “America (and Grand Saline prominently) have never really repented for the atrocities of slavery and its aftermath. What my hometown needs to do is open its heart and its doors to black people, as a sign of the rejection of past sins. … So, at this late date, I have decided to join them by giving my body to be burned, with love in my heart not only for them but also for the perpetrators of such horror.”
Angi McPherson, who witnessed the self-immolation, told the Telegraph she has lived in the town all of her life and she knew there was still a racial divide.
“It’s not as big as it used to be, but it is here. It is everywhere,” she told the newspaper.
The town’s police chief, Larry Compton, told the Telegraph that the preacher’s death disturbed him in many ways.
Grand Saline “might have been that way in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s like a lot of places, but today we are a community of different ethnicities and racial makeups.”
Moore, of Allen, Tex., had a degree from Southern Methodist University and from the Perkins School of Theology at SMU. He served as a minister for half a century. When he retired, he received awards from Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, and the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, according to a biography provided by his family.
Lindsey Bever is a national news reporter for The Washington Post. She writes for the Morning Mix news blog. Tweet her: @lindseybever
SuperFan badge holders consistently post smart, timely comments about Washington area sports and teams.
Culture Connoisseurs consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on the arts, lifestyle and entertainment.
Fact Checkers contribute questions, information and facts to The Fact Checker.
Washingtologists consistently post thought-provoking, timely comments on events, communities, and trends in the Washington area.
This commenter is a Washington Post editor, reporter or producer.
Post Forum members consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on politics, national and international affairs.
Weather Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on climates and forecasts.
World Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on international affairs.
This commenter is a Washington Post contributor. Post contributors aren’t staff, but may write articles or columns. In some cases, contributors are sources or experts quoted in a story.
Washington Post reporters or editors recommend this comment or reader post.
Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.
To pause and restart automatic updates, click "Live" or "Paused". If paused, you\'ll be notified of the number of additional comments that have come in.
Woman takes down Confederate flag in front of South Carolina statehouse
Transcript: Obama delivers eulogy for Charleston pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney
The Latest: Escapee once pledged he wouldn’t be taken alive
Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, should be straight and white, says co-creator Stan Lee
The U.S. Supreme Court Is Acting Like Congress
Ted Nugent just called Obama the n-word — even if he insists that he didn\'t
TV Wars: Inside Roku\'s Plan To Beat Apple, Amazon, And Google
Intelligence Squared: Smart Technology Is Making Us Dumb
Find Out What Your Name Would Be if You Were Born Today (7121122 views)
Opponents divided on how - or whether - to resist justices' ruling
Once You See Inside A Kangaroo\'s Pouch, There\'s No Going Back
Mikko Rantanen selected by Colorado Avalanche at No. 10 in NHL draft
It\'s 3D Mahjongg- you don\'t even need to wear 3D glasses!
Put on your Sudoku hat and get ready for a challenging Sudoku puzzle!
World\'s largest four-winged dinosaur discovered -- and it has massive feathers
Every story. Every feature. Every insight.
read more
ingia au ujiunge na fanpop ili kuongeza maoni yako