Friday, March 3, 2000
Friday, March 3, 2000
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."
Where did Dees get his commitment to equality? He credits his father with teaching him his
ideals. His father hired many African-American people to work on their farm. Throughout the
day, little Morris would often carry the water bucket out to the exhausted workers. He recalls
seeing his father drinking out of the same dipper an African-American woman had just used. That
sort of thing was unheard of back then. But Mr. Dees didn't have a problem with it. And his son,
like all children, watched and learned. You and I look to Jesus, and watch and learn. Jesus defied
racial and religious stereotypes when he asked the Samaritan woman for a drink. Even the
woman was shocked. "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?"
(John 4:7
NRSV)
Morris Dees is a lawyer, activist, and the head of the Southern Poverty Law Center in
Montgomery, Alabama. He's also one of the most hated men in the South. He has carved a career
out of prosecuting hate crimes and advancing the cause of civil rights. Dees has used the power
of the law to cripple the Klan and other hate groups. In the face of constant death threats and
intimidation, Morris Dees refuses to back down one inch.
Lord Jesus, shape my heart into an inclusive one. Amen.
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