Photo credit: Stephen Lacko
Racial prejudice. Gender discrimination. Injustice. These are themes that resonate powerfully in so many ways today. Indeed, sadly, these are also timeless themes that have been insidiously woven throughout the fabric of the tapestry of our nation’s history. In 1846, these troubling refrains took center stage in a courtroom in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Yet, what transpired inside the walls of this single-room courthouse could serve as an unlikely beacon of hope, a transcendent moment of inspiration for our society today as we continue to wrestle with who we are, and who we hope to become, as a nation.
I quite literally stumbled upon the story while visiting the village of Washington, VA, in February of 2015. After wandering inside the historic one-room courthouse...