 In a way, this feels very much like the movement era. Things operating beyond our control, not on exactly the schedule we assumed. In this case, horrible traffic out there. And yet again, musicians save the day. So I'm Gordon Gibson. I'm a member of the Living Legacy Project Board. And very happy to see so many of us here to honor the families of the three martyrs of the Selma Voting Rights Campaign. Each of these families lost a loved one in the course of the struggle to obtain voting rights for all Americans. Viola Liuzzo lost her life along Highway 80 between Selma and Montgomery. Her life was taken by people for whom hatred and violence were central to their lives. The Reverend James Reeb lost his life as the result of a beating on Washington Street in Selma where some of us stood just yesterday. His life was cut short by haters who could not tolerate their social order being altered. Jimmy Lee Jackson lost his life to pre-meditated police violence in Marion, Alabama. His life was shortened, was ended when an Alabama state trooper shot him as he attempted to protect his mother and grandfather from police violence. We need to acknowledge that the rest of us would not be here today if it were not for the losses inflicted on these families. These were not voluntary losses. I'm certain that Jimmy Lee Jackson, James Reeb, and Viola Liuzzo wanted to go on living. But because they valued justice and practiced love, they were willing to place themselves in harm's way. The loss of these three lives appears to have been the price that purchased the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This nation, including all of us here, owes an astronomical debt to these families. It's a debt that really cannot be paid. But we have today small tokens in acknowledgment of our indebtedness. And I'd like to invite forward my collaborators in this, President Peter Morales and moderator Jim Key of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Standing on the side of love emerged as a description of the Unitarian Universalist Association's support for marriage equality. First in Massachusetts in 2004 and later in California. This commitment to love in the face of violence and oppression gained national prominence following the 2008 shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. A UU congregation that was targeted for putting its religious values into action in the community. In 2009, the UUA officially launched the Standing on the Side of Love campaign. Standing on the Side of Love testifies to our commitment to harness love's power to end depression. For many of us, these words are far more than a slogan. They are a statement of the values that we take to heart and live by. Our Standing on the Side of Love campaign bestows a special award, the Courageous Love Award, to individuals and groups who embody these values of peace and justice. The award recognizes those who demonstrate in extraordinary ways the conviction that all people possess inherent worth and dignity. The Courageous Love Award is a symbol of our admiration and respect for those who take a stand for the oppressed. And today, we give this award to the families of Jimmy Lee Jackson, James Reeve, and Viola Liuzzo. May we emulate your strength and your heart. With this award, we remember your beloved family member whose life was taken so suddenly, but whose life continues to infuse our racial justice work with urgency and conviction. We hold in our hearts your sacrifice, your struggle, your pain. And with our actions, we strive to honor your fervent hopes for a future of compassion and equality. 50 years ago, your loss shook to the core of the nation and resulted in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Today, your loss reminds us all of the challenges we face in building beloved community. It is with a deep sense of gratitude that we call you forward to accept this award. And I'd like to first begin by calling the family of Jimmy Lee Jackson, the representatives who are here for it. Emma Jean Jackson, we present this award to you for your courageous sacrifice for us. We're coming all this way to recognize my family. I have to apologize because most of them couldn't be here because we had death in our family. We're having a funeral tomorrow. But thank you for coming, and thank you for all the years that you have stood with my family. I remember when the Unitarian Church would always send my mother check every month. Thank you so much, and you are still here to help. I don't talk about my brother because when you love ones, when you love your family and they are not present, it brings a different feeling to you. But my brother loved people, and I know he's watching over all of us, and he appreciates the things that you have done. Thank you so much, and have a safe trip home, OK? And now I'd like to invite the family of James Reebe in honor of his life, lived in love, witness, and courage as well. Please come forward. You can all come. In fact, we'd love for you to. We'd love for all four. It's a big stage. If you would, we'd love to see you. To the family of James Reebe in honor of his life, lived in courage, witness, and love. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I'd like to invite Ann, the daughter, and Leah, granddaughter. Greetings. Thank you so much for being here because we are very glad to be here. We knew when we stepped inside this room that we were standing in the middle of love. So thank you for that. And we find it a great honor to be with the Jackson family and the Liuzos and all of you. We just want to say, on behalf of the Reeve family, that we are extremely grateful for this and this acknowledgment. And we cherish the UU, so we cherish just being a part of a family, a greater family that stands for justice. And we feel blessed. So thank you so much for doing all the work that you do and making us feel so, you know, keep remembering the veterans, the martyrs, the people, the soldiers that give their love, their energy, and their belief in what's greater, a greater world. And I think there's more work to be done. And so that's why we're here, my whole entire family. We also want to give all the Unitarian Universalists a special thank you for your donation to the Urban Ministry Project in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Some, most of you know, I'm sure all of you know, that that was a special place in my grandfather's heart before he was murdered. And so us as a family greatly appreciate that donation. And us as a family have matched that donation for a project in Casper, which is the town in Wyoming, which my grandfather considered to be his home. And that donation will go to a project called Wyoming Food for Thought, which works towards feeding the communities hungry, many of which are children. And their focus is creating community gardens within our community to give back to the community, but also to feed our community members. So we very much appreciate that donation. And we know that James Reeve would as well. So thank you. And I also want to say thank you, because 15 of us traveled to Selma yesterday. The way we traveled was in a 15 passenger van that was also a blessing from the UUs. Thank you so much, because we had so much joy being there to visit the memorials of the murders. And we thank you for that transportation. We had a really fun time. OK, you paparazzi. I think that's all you're going to get this time. And as I exit, I'd like to invite now the family and the friends of Viola Liuzzo to come up here in honor of her life that was lived in love, witness, and courage. Please come forward. I'm delighted to offer this small token on behalf of your family's gift to all of us. We thank you. Thank you so much. Sally, would you like to? Hi, everyone. Thank you for being here. I'm Vi's youngest daughter. I was six when mom was killed. And the one thing I'd like to say is that for so many years, mom wasn't known. No one knew her name. No one knew who she was, but the UU's never forgot. And I have been to UU churches from Michigan to Oregon and now in Tennessee. And there has not been one that I can't walk in and say, I'm Viola Liuzzo's daughter, and everyone knows. And you won't believe what that means to my family. She's so loved. And this was back when nobody loved her. And it really meant a lot to us. And it still does every day. And I'm a member now, Gordon, of the Holston Valley UU Church in Northeast Tennessee. And I went for the first time and was just welcomed with open arms and just knew I was home. Felt like it was home. And it's a little drive from the house, but it's a beautiful drive, so it's well worth it. So I'm really looking forward to going again next Sunday. And it's the group of people that I identify the most with because this is how mom thought. Mom included everyone. She did not judge. She did not include someone because of their lifestyle. And this was even back in the 60s. And this is how we were raised. And so it feels like home to me. And it's what my mom would approve of, I know. And so thank you all for being here. Thank you for loving her. And thank you for being so supportive of my family. We appreciate each and every one of you. I echo those very same thoughts. And my mother would, she's here. I can feel her. I have felt nothing but love from all of you. Sally's right. I have never met a UU that doesn't know when I say I'm Viola Luzo's daughter. And they fawn over me and they honor me. And I feel like I'm walking in my mother's light. I first went to church with her at the UU in Detroit. And that's where I first got to know all of you, the spirituality that I feel is always there. And do you remember when we were sat next to each other? Barbara's Jesse Jackson's sister and I sat next to each other on a bus. And we got to know each other. And I felt love from her. And I told her that her brother touched my heart. And I felt this throughout all the times that I've come here. And it's true, we have to keep going on. Because we overcame with President Obama's election. But we have a lot to overcome. And I feel it slipping back. And I'm not going to let it happen as long as there's a breath of my body. And there's my legacy of my children and my grandchildren. It's going to keep on going. Let me mention that the Marching in the Ark of Justice Conference, you, us, set aside a small gift of $500 for each family to designate as it shows in honor of their loved one. Scholarship funds will honor Jimmy Lee Jackson and Violeta itself. And the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry, operating in Roxbury, Massachusetts, will receive a gift honoring Jim Reeb, which the family is expanding to reach back home to Casper. Our acknowledgments and our gifts feel small compared to what you have been without for 50 years. It is our hope that this conference, this gathering, will energize us to carry on the work for justice and love. Work in which your loved ones were engaged 50 years ago. Work which remains essential today because it's still unfinished. Thank you so much for honoring us by your presence. Thank you.