The State We're In, 31 July 2010. The Reverend Thomas Butts explains his role in helping desegregate Alabama beginning in the 1950s - and how he nearly lost his job - and life - doing so. We also talk to a couple whose relationship during and after their divorce was better than when they were married. And two young women, one Palestinian and one Israeli, recount how they became best friends, despite their own preconceptions and anger.
Photo: Muna, a Palestinian, and Yaara, from Israel, have both experienced the anguish that can lead to hatred.
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The right side of history
The novel To Kill A Mockingbird is 50 years old this month. Reverend Thomas Butts is a friend of its author, Harper Lee, and has lived a life that parallels the book’s main character, a man who fights for justice in a racist South. Reverend Butts, now 80, speaks with Jonathan about what it was like trying to change segregationist Alabama from the pulpit. He explains how the South is still segregated, not by laws, but through social practices.
Collaborative divorce: the lawyer
Maury White used to be ashamed of admitting he was a divorce attorney, but now that he’s changed to Collaborative Law, he feels passionate and proud of his job – he tells Jonathan Groubert why.
Collaborative divorce: the couple
Cathryn and Peter Merten were married for 21 years. They grew apart and eventually realised they were living two separate lives. But instead of going through the expense and acrimony that many divorcing couples suffer, they collaborated on the terms of their divorce. Now they have the respect and trust they didn’t have while married.
Unlikely friends
Muna and Yaara have a lot in common. Both are young women, energetic and smart. And both were taught to hate the other side. Muna is Palestinian and Yaara is Israeli. They’ve both experienced the anguish that can lead to hatred. But through a camp program called Creativity For Peace, they’ve become close friends in defiance of their communities.
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Thomas Lane Butts is the real deal. The lives of countless people, including me, have been immeasurably blessed through his life and witness for many years. Thank you for sharing his story!
He has preached and written extensively on our radio program and website:
http://day1.org/242-the_rev_dr_thomas_lane_butts
Thomas Lane Butts has been a peace maker since the early fifties. He is a strong voice for the oppressed and hurting individuals. We need thousans more like him across the world. Thank you for telling his story!
I have followed Dr. Butts illustrious ministry since I read his fantastic book TIGERS IN THE DARK which I think is available in paperback or perhaps from Tom Butts at his email address
Thank you for a moving story of faith supporting action for right.
Kudos also to the African-American pastor and his congragation for voting to cover any loss of salary that Rev. Butts might have and to the unnamed woman who each week made substantial contributions to support Rev. Butts ministry.
All three set a standard for us all to emulate.
Thank you all for your considered and heartfelt responses. We'll rerun the interview with Reverend Butts later in our broadcast season. We'll also pass on to him all your comments. All the best, Greg (editor, TSWI).
I am white, 65 years old, and grew up in a very segregated South (born in Kentucky, and raised in Tennessee) although I never understood the magnitude of what was going on. My parents moved to Indiana, and finally to California where I participated in one of the Freedom Rides to help people register to vote in Mississippi. What an eye-opener and how much emotion I felt at seeing firsthand what was going on.
To listen to the wonderful Reverend Butts was to realize how love, education and understanding can change the course of history. It can't undo the past, but his words can help us realize that tomorrow can be different. I don't think any professor or leader could say anything more profound than the Rev. Butts did! Thank you for such an insightful piece. I, too, would love to meet Rev. Butts--it might be worth a trip to Monroeville!
So, go meet Dr. Butts, it would be worth the trip. At least get onto his mailing list for continuing emailed articles he writes!
I just sat in my car listening to the piece on Rev. Butts. What a lovely, dignified, insightful man. I feel like I want to go to to Alabama to meet him in person. I have never heard a story of brave white ministers like him. I am a 62 year old black woman, though not raised in the south. This story moved me and warmed my heart. Thanks for sharing him with us.
I enjoyed and was moved by the lovely piece you did on the Palestinian and Israeli girls. It goes to show that with a little ingenuity it is possible to bridge the divide and lower the level of prejudices which exist among people. I am a regular listener via the C.B.C. night programming.
I'm listening to "The State We're In" on this Saturday morning (July 31). I was particularly moved by the story of Reverend Thomas Butts. I was the first black child to integrate the public schools in Alabama in 1963 at the age of 6. But my family was involved in many aspects of desegregation in Huntsville, Alabama during those times. This included lunch counters, public parks, public buildings, restaurants, stores, etc. What was most striking to me about Rev. Butts' story was how similar the events he described were to those occurring in Huntsville about that same time. The ways in which those situations were handled by those who wanted change were also strikingly similar, as were the consequences for those people in many cases.
Anyway, yours is the most interesting programming on World Radio News, in my opinion. Thanks !!!
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