If you subscribe to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) newsletter, the story of this monumental injustice as already arrived to your inbox.  However, if you don’t, allow us to share the shocking contents of a recent message:

“Feb. 16, 2010

Dear Friend,

As you may have read in yesterday’s New York Times, we’ve just filed an important new lawsuit against the town of Homer, Louisiana, where an elderly black man was shot dead by a white police officer while standing harmlessly on his own front porch.

Our suit seeks justice for Bernard Monroe’s widow and his five children. But there’s also a larger issue at stake — the pattern of racial profiling and police harassment of African Americans that led directly to Monroe’s death.

Last year, the white police chief in the town told a newspaper: “If I see three or four young black men walking down the street, I have to stop them and check their names. I want them to be afraid every time they see the police that they might get arrested.”

Monroe, 73, a retiree known as “Mr. Ben,” was enjoying a gathering of family and friends on a mild winter day last February when two white police officers pulled up in front of the modest wood-frame house he had called home for the past 25 years.

For no good reason, the officers chased his adult son into the house. They had no warrant, and nobody there was wanted for any crime. When Mr. Monroe walked up the front porch steps during the commotion to check on his elderly wife, an officer who was still inside the house opened fire through the screen door, hitting him multiple times in the chest, back and arms.

This terrible tragedy should never have happened. And it wouldn’t have happened if the police had acted responsibly. But, apparently, this type of police intimidation was well known to African Americans in the town.

Earlier on the day Monroe was killed, the police officer who fired the deadly shots had also searched and questioned other African Americans who were doing nothing more than sitting in their yard, minding their own business.

I’m outraged that this type of racial profiling is still occurring almost half a century after Jim Crow segregation was struck down in the South. The people of Homer deserve a police department that protects, rather than harasses them.

We’re determined to get justice for the Monroe family and to stop unlawful discrimination.

The dangers of bigotry are clear. Please speak out against racial profiling and every form of discrimination. Thank you for supporting our work and for everything you do to promote justice in your own community.

Sincerely, Morris Dees Founder, Southern Poverty Law Center “

If that doesn’t spur some level of disbelief and outrage upon reading, you might want to check your pulse.  The fact that this is 2010 – 101 years after the founding of the NAACP, 44 years after the passing of the Civil Rights act of 1964, and more than a year after the election of an African American man as the President of the United States of America – and this type of blatant discrimination is still occurring, is both disturbing and simply sad.  And, the fact that this instance is not just by American citizens, but by law enforcement officers, makes it all the more unbelievable.

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It is reasons precisely like the story above – that the Monroe family is not alone in their suffering of a death in the family due to a horridly unjust wrong-doing – why Sojourn to the Past was started in the first place.  By showing young people what non-violent, unified people can achieve when fighting for what they know deep-down is right – only then will generations be changed forever, and permanent social movements endure.

Have you ever been involved in a conversation with a group – perhaps old friends, or maybe new colleagues or neighbors – and the talk turns to a familiar question: “Do you remember where you were when…?”  Sometimes it’s a recent pop-culture event: “Do you remember where you were when you found out Michael Jackson died?”  Sometimes it’s a life event that changes the country: “Do you remember where you were when the Twin Towers were hit, or when they crumbled to the streets of New York City?”  It may be a sporting event, great-grandfathers recall where they were when ‘The Babe’ called his shot; it might be political – women in their 60s right now vividly remember where they were when President JFK was shot and assassinated.  It’s a big question, with bigger answers, and the biggest implications.

Sadly, as generations age, there are always fewer and fewer people who can give first-hand accounts of these huge, and worldly events.  The final survivors of the Holocaust, people who were passengers who survived the sinking of the Titanic… are saying their last good-byes, and unless their stories are begged of, told, and documented, those memories can be lost forever.

For precisely this reason, a recent compilation by The New York Times, honoring heroes of the Civil Rights-era, holds within it more value than anyone can put a price on.  It’s a multi-media experience than students, hard-working family members, and retirees can enjoy together.  That close friends – perhaps with grandparents on opposite sides of the theoretical divide – can share, learn from, and allow to spark meaningful and teaching dialogue toward further understanding.

Within it are contemporary pictures of past milestones and famous and moving faces, historical photographs, interviews, audio clips, and more.

This Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day weekend, which always fall during Black History Month, take a moment to explore this moving collage of unforgettable moments in this essential era in American history – the Civil Rights era – when the convictions of many brave people manifested into a fight for equality for all.

The hard copy of The New Yorker periodical should be on newsstands today, Friday, February 12, 2010.

Steeped in tradition, “In Performance at the White House” is a regular cultural music and performance event at the White House that has been hosted by first families for decades now, dating back to the time of the Carter administration.  Produced since 1987 by WETA television – Washington’s source for compelling television – the event draws high-profile Washingtonians and honored guests, artists and activist alike.

The show this month is “In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement,” in honor of Black History Month, and is hosted by the President and Mrs. Obama.  Airing on PBS this evening, features songs from the Civil Rights era, delivered by top entertainers, as well as educational readings and speeches, that impacted the movement greatly.

Sojourn to the Past is also extremely excited that recently, Joan Baez [who sits on our National Advisory Committee] joined the concert line-up.  She’ll perform “We Shall Overcome” – which is a tune close to Sojourner’s hearts that the students sing nearly daily on their journey.

Additionally, Morgan Freeman [also a National Advisory Committee member with Sojourn] will participate in the night’s festivities as a guest speaker.

The concert will also showcase a reunion of three of the original Freedom Singers, who traveled over 50,000-plus miles during the 1960’s – singing for the cause of freedom for all Americans.  During the February 10th concert (taped), the original Freedom Singers will be: Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Rutha Harris, and Charles Neblett.

The President will make opening remarks at this concert, held in the East Room, which will stream live on www.whitehouse.gov, and also result in a one-hour concert special produced by NPR and available starting tomorrow, Feb. 12th.

Take advantage of this wonderful collection of talented performers honoring our nation’s storied history, and share it with your friends and family.  A complete list of performers and guests to participate in the show can be found here.

Today, Sojourn to the Past was honored to be featured in the same media outlet and by the same reporter who has brought truth to the surface of countless civil rights cases. Jerry Mitchell, who is one of the speakers on the Sojourn journey, has dedicated his life and career to uncovering the truth and today we were humbled by his words and praises on his ‘Journey to Justice’ blog on the Clarion Ledger’s website. If you would like to read the blog, click on the image below.