White Preacher Sets Himself On Fire To Inspire Justice For African Americans
R.I.P. Charles Moore.
Posted on 07/18/2014, in Potpourri, Uncategorized and tagged Charles Moore, equality, suicide, Texas, United Methodist. Bookmark the permalink. 15 Comments.
We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident 
Some Caucasians feel deeply hurt for the racism and unfairness that has been heaped on African Americans as well as the Native Americans. One person cannot do it all it takes the majority to change from the inside out. God bless him.
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May God bless him for his deed to focus attention on racism in an effort to bring about change.
May many be inspired now to be bolder in decrying racial hate and may our nation kneel in prayer to ask forgiveness for the heinous deeds of the past. May attitudes change and may actions today be directed to repairing the damages left and still present caused by the horrific practices of the past….from slavery, to Jim Crow, to lynchings and banishments of whole communities of African Americans.
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Charles Moore, may you rest in peace in the arms of His love and understanding.
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There’s a debate happening on Twitter now about it. Certainly, no one is happy about anyone taking their own life, but it is the purpose left in his note that is the focus. Charles wanted to send a message. There is also history in his message.
My regret is that I did not know about him while he was alive.
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I knew when I read your re-post that there would be a debate because it has shaken me to the core. My heart is breaking.
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” A Texas minister set himself on fire and died to ‘inspire’ justice”
July 16, 2014
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/16/79-year-old-retired-reverend-set-himself-on-fire-to-inspire-social-justice/
Excerpt from one of letters he left behind which was obtained by the Washington Post article:
“I will soon be eighty years old, and my heart is broken over this,” he wrote. “America (and Grand Saline prominently) have never really repented for the atrocities of slavery and its aftermath. What my hometown needs to do is open its heart and its doors to black people, as a sign of the rejection of past sins. … So, at this late date, I have decided to join them by giving my body to be burned, with love in my heart not only for them but also for the perpetrators of such horror.”
It seems as if he perhaps he felt that he offering himself as a Christ-life sacrifice to atone for the sins against African Americans by our society.
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This doesn’t seem to be getting much press. and I think some ppl aren’t very enthusiastic about commending this man and respecting him because he committed suicide. when i was religious i believed you wouldn’t go to heaven if you killed yourself. and i think there’s a lot of religions that believe that. so ppl are kinda concerned about that aspect and possibly his family left behind. understandably so. I hate to imagine what his family or friends may be feeling.
but the other reason I’ve read on the yahoo post are the same tired reasons that bigots usually use as an excuse. they’re feeling all uncomfortable with a white person’s passion for equality for everyone. they can’t stand the thought of it because of their own pathetic selfishness. they can’t imagine a sane person would feel strongly enough to not only dedicate his life to others, but to actually give his life for others. fuck those losers.
it bothers me that his wishes to be heard and his story is not getting out the way he obviously wanted. the racists are busy hiding and ignoring it when he clearly wanted publicity or he wouldn’t have done it where and how he did.
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Shannon,
While I don’t want to get on a religious soap box, this story compels me to say the following. The idea that some sins are greater than others comes from self-righteous mankind. They should read their Bibles. Samson committed suicide, and Jesus said that no man was taking his life — he was freely giving it.
It appears that Moore was not focused on his death, but his life, and using his death to bring attention to his life. It’s his message that he hoped to spread through his death, because he spent at least half a century of his life doing what he could to demonstrate love and equality to his fellow mankind. That should be what people should focus on and contemplate. You are good presenting that perspective.
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If there is such a place as Heaven, that’s where his soul rests today. He’s lived through Hell, right here on this earth, in the horrors he witnessed and lived his life trying to change.
I had a step grandfather who would brag about the atrocities he and other Law Enforcement officers would heap upon those bound in hand cuffs, those who couldn’t protect themselves in the 50’s and 60’s in South Carolina. As he was dying, his 80’s, he would ‘see’ a man of color, sitting in his room. By then he was helpless and too ill to ‘protect’ himself. No one else could see this man but him. He would cry out, “can’t you see him, he’s right there, he’s gonna hurt me and I can’t stop him’ He believed this man had come to take him to hell when he died.
I knew when I was 6 years old, that the abuse he described, was wrong, and that I would never support such hate against anyone. Any race. Any group of human beings.
I don’t know if there is such a place as Hell. Sometimes I hope there is, even if it’s just in one’s mind, born of fear of their own sins.
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While I must admire this mans courage of conviction. I am not sure that his death by fire will accomplish the goal that he desired. Perhaps it did in one way, it did bring about at least a small measure of discussion about the racial history of the area he lived in, so in one light I do suppose he did partially reach his goal, but I question if he could have done more by standing up and speaking out. I did take the time to read the comments (as I normally do) found in the article linked, and while most were positive, I was disappointed to find some that were racist in their tone, if this man were able to come back and read those comments, I wonder what his thoughts toward his act would be? IMO, the racial bias that is found on all sides in this nation is morally wrong and we as a people need to seek change in our hearts and in our lives. It is we who have come together to fight for equality and justice that will bring about change in this nation, but only if we continue to work as one to do so…
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crustyolemothman,
When you mentioned reading the comments of the articles linked here, I decided to take a look at them also. I found this one:
Sawmillz:
7/17/2014 9:57 AM EDT
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/politics/2012/09…
You might learn a little something if you read this…from the article; “Self-immolation has little to do with suicide. “Suicidal tendencies almost never lead to self-immolation,” says Michael Biggs, one of the few sociologists who have studied the phenomenon systematically.
“Mediocre minds usually dismiss anything which reaches beyond their own understanding.”–Francois de La Rochefoucauld
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Excerpt from a July 3, 2014 article linked below:
Bill Renfro, 77, a retired Methodist minister and relative of Moore’s by marriage, wrote a letter in the wake of the man’s death to explain why he committed self-immolation.
“Charles sacrificed his life in this manner as a statement that he was dying on behalf of others to call attention to the plight of the powerless people struggling to live who are being denied justice, equality, constitutional rights, health and quality education,” he wrote. “He gave his life on behalf of the hungry, the poor, the imprisoned and the jobless as well.”
“Family of minister who set himself on fire explains his final act”
http://www.news-journal.com/news/local/family-of-minister-who-set-himself-on-fire-explains-his/article_40437d0e-72f4-5ecc-81c9-44e1498f7f3b.html
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The linked article below has more of Bill Renfro’s (the retired Methodist minister who is a relative of Charles Moore by marriage) letter about Charles Moore:
Rev. Bill Renfro notes that “as a young minister, he (Charles Moore) was kicked out of churches in East Texas for standing up for integration.”
Bill Renfro states that: “he was concerned that the programs that were developed for those who don’t have enough for food and adequate nutrition are being cut; that health care for millions is being denied with no reason except spite toward the President; that racism is rampant; that the performance of a same-sex union by The United Methodist Church is considered to be on par with crimes such as rape, pedophilia, extortion, etc.; that LGBTQ persons still suffer from discriminatory practices; that the death penalty is still used as a supreme punishment without deterrent effect; that cuts are being made in quality public education for all children; that voting rights are being taken away by discriminatory laws; that justice is unbalanced for the minorities and the poor; that tax cuts are proposed for the wealthy; that leaders and lawmakers enjoy social injustice. He considered his act to be a supreme sacrifice for the sake of others, for all, including the powerful and the powerless. He believed that the memory of his act would allow healing to evolve.”
http://um-insight.net/perspectives/world-on-fire/
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