Jonathan Daniels (Virtual) Pilgrimage - August 15, 2020

Who is Jonathan Daniels? Why would you want to attend a virtual pilgrimage?

Posters of Jonathan Daniels and other martyrs from the Civil Rights Era in Alabama. Photograph taken in 2019 at the site where Daniels was martyred. Courtesy of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama.

Jonathan was an Episcopal seminarian from New Hampshire who came to Alabama in 1965 to live and work for voting and employment rights and to welcome black people to worship in an all-white Episcopal church. Jonathan was arrested in Fort Deposit near Hayneville because he had protested for jobs for black people in all-white stores. He and 29 other activists were arrested and held in jail for a week. When they were released, he and three others went to buy a cold drink from the grocery store. A deputy armed with a shotgun would not let them enter because one of the activists was Ruby Sales, a 17-year-old black teenager. The deputy pointed his shotgun at Ruby; Jonathan stepped in front of her and was shot. He died instantly. Ruby Sales is now an Episcopal priest, college professor and an advocate for civil rights. She founded The Spirit House Project.

Walking in the footsteps of someone who has sacrificed their life for another person is like walking in the footsteps of Jesus. I have attended the Jonathan Daniels Pilgrimage and have walked with the hundreds of people who gathered on a hot August day in Hayneville. We pilgrims walked together on the road that Jonathan, Ruby, and the other activists walked that day in 1965. We stopped at the jail where they were held for a week — a place that was dirty, hot and offered no opportunity to shower or take care of basic human needs. We walked to the grocery store where these hungry and thirsty activists went to get a cold drink after their long week in jail cells. We stood as a collective group of black, white, Latinx, young, and old people with different backgrounds, political views and lifestyles. Together we listened to the story of a white 26-year-old man giving his life for a 17-year-old black teenager.

Imagine how quickly Jonathan had to have made that decision. Or did he? Was it something he had to decide about, or was it the instinctive response of someone who loved all people and had an innate desire to protect anyone who could not protect themselves — to give his life as Jesus did for all of us? On the pilgrimage, I found myself wondering what I would do. Many of us spent time that day on the steps where Jonathan was killed, praying for true equality, love and respect for the dignity of every person. We continued walking to the Hayneville courthouse where the deputy who killed Jonathan was acquitted.  Rev. Ruby Sales spoke in that same courthouse.

This virtual pilgrimage will allow you to see the places Jonathan walked and hear stories about his selfless love and actions. You may not actually be in Hayneville, but you can still experience the same feelings and questions that those of us who have gathered there in person have experienced. And you can listen to the Very Rev. Dr. Kelley Brown Douglas, Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary. It should be a very special event.

This blog post is written by Lisa Beatty, with help from Catherine McCarty. Whether you’ve been there before or not, make time on August 15 to join the virtual pilgrimage. There are three ways to participate:

1. The diocesan website: www.dioala.org/jonathandaniels
2. The Facebook page: www.fb.com/dioala/live
3. The YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/GzLjfb_gpg8