THEY CAME FOR ME, AND THERE WAS NO ONE LEFT TO SPEAK OUT FOR ME!

"First they came ..." is the poetic form of a 1946 post-war confessional prose by the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984). It is about the silence of German intellectuals and certain clergy—including, by his own admission, Niemöller himself—following the Nazis' rise to power and subsequent incremental purging of their chosen targets, group after group. Many variations and adaptations in the spirit of the original have been published in the English language. It deals with themes of persecution, guilt, repentance, and personal responsibility.

In 2023, I find this poem to be a poignant reminder of darker days ahead for those of us deemed “the least of these.” Even though the Bible explicitly champion those of us deemed less than, the powers to be does not. One does not have to wonder what is taking place in the U.S. regarding the blatant attacks on women, interracial couples, same-sex marriage, antiLGBQ folxs, and the Transgender community by the Republican party. All you have to do is revisit history particular in the Southern U.S. region and there lies your answers. For those of us on the front line fighting for FREEDOMS, we are urging those of you on the sideline watching to be keenly aware. These laws and attempts to roll back progressive advancements are calculated and intentionally executed. They have been aggressively introduced in Republican led legislations since 2016 after the 2nd term of President Barack Obama.

This is our urgent plea to anyone who have been watching or reading the headlines about these egregious legislative laws since 2023 began. “WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK!” Let’s not be like the German Lutheran Pastor Martin Niemöller in our time of need and there is no one left to help us fight!

Gwendolyn D. Clemons

MBA, PRC, Editor-in-Chief