What image are you reflecting?

There are a few quotes I’ve kept handy most of my adult life for inspiration. One is by slain Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated 50 years ago

Tuesday: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Those words have been tapped to my computer monitor or desk in every work space I have occupied. They have provided me with courage and conviction to advocate for what is right, especially when the topic is unpopular and makes some folks squirm.

Another quote I keep near is by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” The last is from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:12: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them … .”

I spent some time last week thinking on the importance of speaking against injustice, courage, and behavior toward others after learning about the treatment of a college student in a South Arkansas business.

John Worthen, the managing editor of the Pine Bluff Commercial and a former long-time reporter, columnist and blogger for the El Dorado News-Times, shared his horror over the treatment of one of the paper’s interns who is a student at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. The intern told Worthen that one of the businesses she attempted to interview for a spring gardening story told her to leave because they didn’t want “her kind” in their establishment. This happened at a business in White Hall. Worthen sent a letter to the owner and subsequently wrote an editorial about the issue of racism, which was published last week.

He has caught some flack, been called a race baiter, and the newspaper has taken a few blows. Why? For speaking out against what is wrong and standing up for what is right.

Worthen expressed feeling discouraged. I encouraged him to be emboldened. The current political climate has put the heckling haters on front street. If those who oppose inappropriate treatment of their fellow man stay silent and don’t speak, the culture that propagates hate wins.

I know it’s hard to call people out, especially when they are your neighbors. Maybe, you have to get along and work together on projects and don’t want to be perceived as being “the one” to rock the boat. Or perhaps, it serves your interests to remain silent because you fear repercussions from the community where you “belong,” but others don’t.

Think about how you would want to be treated. What if it had happened to you or your child? How would you feel? How would you want those who knew about such an incident to respond? How would you feel if they remained silent?

Muster some courage. Find your voice. Don’t be silent. Speak against what is wrong. Fight injustice. If others find fault in that, then they need to check the mirror and reflect on themselves — because it is they who have a problem.

There are moments that define each of us. How we choose to react and respond during those times shows others who we are. What type of image are you reflecting?

Shea Wilson is the former managing editor of the El Dorado News-Times. E-mail her at melsheawilson@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @SheaWilson7.