I am, at this writing, preparing for a musical evening at my congregation featuring songs from the year 1968 that bring back memories and, in some cases, have stood the test of time.
I was an eighth grade junior high school student as 1968 began. War was raging in Vietnam. The path towards fully putting into practice the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was moving forward, with success in some communities, but with difficulty in others.
I have been reading historian Jon Meacham’s book, The Soul of America, to gain some perspective and how our country has faced and overcome challenges in the past.
Meacham’s review of the events of 1968 spurred my own recollections of that year.
I watched President Lyndon Johnson announce, in a televised speech on Sunday, March 31, 1968, that he would neither seek nor accept the nomination of his party as a candidate for the presidency.
I recall where I was standing in my home when, on Thursday of that same week, I heard the news of the assassination of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee.
On the following Sunday, I joined my family and thousands of others at the plaza of Liberty Memorial, Kansas City’s commemorative site and museum for World War I, for a memorial service for Dr. King. My rabbi spoke, as did other religious and civic leaders.
It was, sadly the last day that the community would be united for a number of months, as unrest spread there and throughout the country.
On my last day of eighth grade in early June, my classmates and I were in shock as we mourned the assassination of Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy the night before.
I attended an 11-day Jewish overnight camp in Wisconsin that July, which offered me a short break from the news, along with reminders of how my faith teaches me to try to build community, to foster mutual respect and understanding, and to create and spread peace.
The unrest that surrounded the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August added turbulence to a nation that so desperately needed healing and hope.
That hope came, to some extent, when Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders read the opening verses of the book of Genesis to conclude their television transmission from lunar orbit.
Some of the songs I chose for my July 28 program at Temple Beth-El reflected the values of healing, unity and hope that emerged from that year.
Richard Holler’s “Abraham, Martin and John” offered a poignant tribute to American leaders who were violently taken from us. This eulogy-in-song was tenderly and sensitively sung by Dion DiMucci.
Sylvester Stewart, of Sly and the Family Stone, in his song, “Everyday People,” declared “I am no better and neither are you; we are the same whatever we do.”
Songwriter Walter Earl Brown was asked to compose a song to end Elvis Presley’s December 1968 live television concert. “If I can dream” included these lyrics: “There must be peace and understanding sometime - strong winds of promise that will blow away the doubt and fear....and while I can dream, please let my dream come true right now.”
May we continue to find, in our past and present, timeless inspiration and insights which we can, together, give to future generations.
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