Dateline: City of St. Jude, Montgomery, Alabama. March 24, 1965
Can you imagine that, at a critical moment in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, a spontaneous concert would occur that featured Sammy Davis, Jr., Leonard Bernstein, Shelly Winters, Nina Simone, Tony Bennett, Pernell Roberts, George Kirby, Floyd Patterson, and Peter, Paul, and Mary?
Organized by Harry Belafonte, the "Stars for Freedom" rally was held on the evening of Wednesday, March 24, 1965, at
City of St. Jude, a Catholic institution just outside Montgomery, Alabama.
This was the site of the fourth and final encampment for the civil rights marchers, who had made their way 54 miles from Selma, starting the previous Sunday.
More than 25,000 attended, including people of many ethnicities and religious beliefs.
The performers stood on a make-shift stage constructed of coffin crates and plywood.
The City of St. Jude was founded in 1934 by Fr. Harold Purcell, who
hired black masons, roofers, and carpenters to construct the church, school, medical facilities, social center, and rectory.
Today, it continues to manifest Fr. Purcell's dream of being a "center for the religious, charitable, educational and industrial advancement of the Negro people."
A brochure about the City of St. Jude expresses the Biblical imperative to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and aid the sick.
Its mission coincides with a message in the gospel of St. Matthew (25:40): "Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me."
Thus lies the irony that, on that night in Alabama, the cause for African-Americans, who had been victimized as "lesser-than" for generations, was celebrated by some of the most famous names in contemporary show business ... some who were black and some who were white.
The decision by the City of St. Jude's director, the Rev. Paul J. Mullaney, to allow the marchers and their supporters to encamp and party there was consistent with the institution's mission of being a champion for human rights.
And it was the only organization in Montgomery -- public or private, Christian or non-Christian -- willing to take such a bold stand on behalf of the Civil Rights Movement.
Over the decades, the City of St. Jude had proven to be a leader in nondiscriminatory health care. It operated a school of practical nursing, the first prenatal care program in Montgomery County, and the first drug and treatment center in Alabama.
In the 1950s, it provided primary polio treatment.
An image of Jesus Christ with outstretched arms on the church is accompanied by the compassionate Biblical message: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are burdened."
Yet, the institution drew harsh criticism:
A brochure about the organization says the Ku Klux Klan threatened to "blow St. Jude off the map."
Many longtime donors withdrew financial support, which created a financial strain for many years.
Nevertheless, a summary statement in the City of St. Jude brochure applies to both the Civil Rights Movement and the organization itself: "It was a demonstration of what mass determination could achieve."
Next blog: Despair and courage: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
