The Price of Courage

As I follow the life of my great-great-grandmother, Nancy Kendall and her husband, Andrew, I am profoundly affected by the dangers that the work of a single dissident, or a group of dissidents faces. That kind of courageous behavior takes great strength of character and a deep love of fellow human beings.

The penalties for helping the enslaved were very real for freedom seekers and helpers alike. To take a stand for an issue which causes pain and hardship to other humans, even if the tide of society may be part of that condition is difficult, and frightening.

Nancy's parents raised her to act when she saw injustice. The Jones family and, after Nancy and Andrew married, the Kendall family were often "on the run" during the years when enslaving persons was in full swing. Slavery was a key factor in the country's growth in the 1800s and long before. The Jones and Kendall families were but a few of the thousands who abhorred slavery and assisted the enslaved as they sought freedom. 

Mstislav Rostropovich with wife Galina Vishnevskaya, 1965. Prints and Photographs Division/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. LC-USZ62-115062)

A friend in my local poetry society recently mentioned a painting of Mstislav Rostropovich, (1921-2007), which hangs on her living room wall. Not only was he one of the greatest cellists who ever lived, he was known for his activism in Russia, much to his peril. When the Berlin Wall went down, Rostropovich took a chair and his cellos, sat amid the rubble and played Bach. I love that.

And, I will never forget my experience of studying under David Dellinger of the Chicago 7 in 1975. A new film called "The Trial of the Chicago 7" about the group's activism during the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago and subsequent trial tells the story. I recommend it. 

The Trial of the Chicago 7