Sojourners Magazine: March 2012

Vincent Harding  knows what it means to keep on keepin’ on: Both his writing and his personal journey tell a story of perseverance and resilience in the pursuit of justice. Harding, who met Martin Luther King Jr. in 1958 and later published several books on King and the civil rights movement, moved to Atlanta with his wife, Rosemarie, in 1961 to set up the interracial “Mennonite House.” (See Rosemarie’s story of going “back South” in our February 2012 issue.)

For Vincent, the choice of going to Atlanta was a “fundamental decision ... to give ourselves to the struggle for as long as seemed right.” Five decades later, Harding is still giving himself to the struggle, now as head of the Veterans of Hope Project (co-founded with Rosemarie), which focuses on documenting the “transformative histories of ‘long distance runners’ for peace and justice.”

Other articles in this issue highlight the need to be long distance runners in the pursuit of social change. We offer stories of people working for a fair global economy, for compassionate treatment of immigrants, to end mass incarceration, and to reverse the causes of climate change. All of these efforts require the kind of long-term thinking and action that keeps the focus on ultimate goals—and isn’t dissuaded or discouraged by the inevitable ups and downs along the way. As the old civil rights anthem put it, such a movement can only be sustained by the hope that comes as we “keep our eyes on the prize, hold on!”