I was 16 years old in 1989 – around the same age as the young men convicted in the Central Park Five story.
After watching the new mini-series on Netflix, When They See Us, depicting their story, I am completely flabbergasted that they were convicted.
Friends, let me tell you something. . .
THIS IS ON ALL OF US.
ALL OF US.
And their story is not the only one.
Every day in this country, there is a child, a teenager, a young adult who is railroaded and coerced into saying or doing something.
A child, a teenager, a young adult who is railroaded and coerced into confessing to something untrue.
Listen, there is no “us” and “them.”
There is no “other.”
Martin Niemöller, a Lutheran pastor in Germany who was an outspoken foe of Adolf Hitler, and who was spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps, wrote:
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did speak out – because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.”
And this is why One Generation Peace Project exists. . .
To speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves. To speak out for those who have no one to speak for them.
To advocate for and to love and to nurture and to help heal youth and young adults.
Because they are the future.
And I know without a doubt that we can turn the tide in One Generation.
We can heal the planet in One Generation.
We can create a world of peace and love in One Generation.
NOW is the time.