Reflecting on the Hart-Desiato Bridge Dedication during a Rally on Boston Common, and Civil Disobedience at the State House

Compiled by The Bedford Citizen

Rev. John E. Gibbons, speaking at a protest rally on Boston Common on Tuesday, May 29 – Courtesy image (c) Salvatore Balsamo, 2018 all rights reserved

On Tuesday, May 29, First Parish in Bedford’s Senior Minister Rev. John Gibbons spoke during a protest rally on Boston Common organized by the Poor People’s Campaign – a National Call for Moral Revival.

The Campaign seeks to reinvigorate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s work and focus attention on “systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nation’s distorted morality.” It has engaged in a 40-day initiative which undertook weekly themes on May 13. The theme for Week Three, to which Rev. Gibbons spoke on Tuesday, addresses the War Economy, the Needs of Veterans, and the Proliferation of Guns.

Reflecting on the recent dedication of the Hart-Desiato Bridge over the Concord River, Rev. Gibbons pointed out that perhaps more could be done to truly honor John Hart and Travis Desiato, Bedford Veterans who lost their lives in the Iraq war.

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We live in a country where soaring military expenditures have priority over bridge and infrastructure repairs, education, healthcare, and human services. We are ashamed; we are angry, and we are determined to build a new bridge to America’s future.

– A refrain in Rev. Gibbons’s speech.

To read the full text of the speech Rev. Gibbons delivered on Boston Common, click this link, or watch video coverage of the Boston Common event and the sit-in at the State House on YouTube, beginning at minute 24: https://youtu.be/mU5AtJRe9nA.

Later on Tuesday, Rev. Gibbons was arrested in an act of civil disobedience during a sit-in outside Governor Charlie Baker’s office in the Massachusetts State House. He was jailed and later released along with First Parish Acting Parish Minister Lisa Perry-Wood, and 14 others, including many clergy and veterans.

About the Poor People’s Campaign

Rev. William Barber, Rev. James Forbes and Rev. John Gibbons at Bethel AME Church – Image (c) JMcCT, 2016 all rights reserved – Click to view larger image

Led by Rev. William Barber, the Poor People’s Campaign will culminate during a demonstration in Washington, DC on June 23.

Click www.poorpeoples campaign.org  to learn more about the Poor People’s Campaign – a National Call for Moral Revival.

 

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