Today, I caught the tail end of a History Channel special about the Freedom Summer. The portion I watched dealt with the funeral of James Chaney, one of the three civil rights workers who was beaten and murdered in Mississippi in 1964. A clip from the funeral showed activist, David Dennis, speaking to the audience. A snippet of his words jumped out at me, “…I’m tired of going to funerals…” Hearing these words gave me a sudden feeling of de ja vu.
I’ve heard that same phrase spoken time and time again over the years by parents of innocent victims of gang violence in Chicago. It made me think of the phrase, “Those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it.” So I have to wonder, is history repeating itself?