Righteous Gentiles -- Righteous Americans

Wallenberg,  Schindler, and Irena Sendler are among the men and women referred to by Jews as "righteous gentiles."   They are people who, at great risk to the lives of themselves and their families, stepped forward to rescue Jewish men, women and children.  Regrettably, there weren't more of these people.  But, they did what they could to work against a Holocaust that destroyed six million Jews.

I would put people like Henry Moskowitz,  Mary White Ovington, and William English Walling, founders of the NAACP, and Schwerner and Goodman, young men murdered along with Chaney,  as "righteous Americans."   I would add to this list Branch Rickey, who saw the need for equality in baseball and who chose Jackie Robinson as the athlete to integrate the game.  I would also add to this list Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma.  And, there are many others.

This would take nothing away from Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King Jr. and the many great African-Americans who fought valiantly against Jim Crow and often lost their lives in this struggle.  But to deny the bravery and self sacrifice of men and woman who saw the clear need to fight injustice, does credit to no one.

Acknowledging the goodness and bravery of those who worked to end the miserable state in which a minority was held would help bring together all people of good will.  To slough off the efforts of those who helped fight injustice simply separates people and keeps them apart.