Chamblee54

It was September, 1976, in Athens, Georgia. Someone decided to open a disco downtown. On opening night, there was a crowd. People wanted to know, would men be able to dance with men?
The owner was said to be a redneck, who would not allow such things. Finally, the party got started. At some point, same sex couples started to dance together. The owner shut down the music, and stood in front of the crowd with a microphone. He said a few words that did not please anyone, and there was an uneasy silence. Then, out of the back, came one voice.
We’re all God’s children.
45 years later, we are still struggling. People try to solve problems, big and small, with name calling. If you don’t have the correct opinion about this or that, then you are a terrible person. We seem to forget the one basic truth: We’re all God’s children.
We don’t know who cried out WAGC that night, 45 years ago. If I had to guess, I would say that it was an African-American. Much of the name-calling today is about skin color. If you are not heard repeating the platitudes of the day, you will get called racist. You are deemed worthy of hatred and abuse. Your humanity is taken away from you. You are no longer one of God’s children. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.”