Memorial Day Blessings and 100th Tulsa Remembrance

From the Executive Director’s Desk

Memorial Day Blessings and 100th Tulsa Remembrance

As Executive Director, I am humbled to send blessings on behalf of AMI/USA to all of our nation’s fallen soldiers, on this Memorial Day.* Memorial Day is a time when many within our nation show gratitude and reverence for those who made the ultimate sacrifice. There is not one community in our country who have been spared this pain and heartache. There may be many current AMI/USA members affected by the horrors of war, where too many have lost loved ones, whether sons or daughters or husbands or wives, in conflicts as recent as the Afghanistan or Iraqi conflicts.

Additionally, I want to take a moment to make a heartfelt acknowledgement of all of the racially victimized veterans (Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC)) who have lost their lives protecting the United States of America. And, I want to take a special moment to acknowledge the Black WWI veterans who lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Some of these veterans did not die overseas fighting for America, but instead these patriots died, 100 years ago, here in the USA fighting to protect their community (please click the link below for the 100^th Tulsa remembrance observation). It is interesting to note that the universal carnage of war is proof positive that our country is capable of coming together around a common goal, unfortunately far too often it has been to rally for war, not peace.

Hopefully, we, as Montessorians, can nurture our children to be motivated and unified to uphold peace/justice. By following the teachings of Dr. Montessori who called for individual, and societal transformation, peace can follow, as opposed to the continued loss of precious life that happens too often in war. Dr. Montessori teaches “that we mistakenly call the permanent triumph of the aims of a war ‘peace’ [which] causes us to fail to fail to recognize the way to salvation, the path that could lead us to true peace (Montessori, 1949, p.7).” My hope is that those that have experienced the loss of a loved one will find personal comfort in knowing that this nation sets aside this day to remember and thank those, known and unknown, for their service and valor. “The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude” (Jeff Miller). Let us remember that Memorial Day is not just a vacation day, but it is an opportunity for us to remember the ways in which all (Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, Black, White, LGBTQIA, etc.) have fought because they truly hoped to realize a “just peace” (Han and Moquino, 2018) that is ultimately rooted in the truth of the humanity of all.

Click here to read our 100^th Tulsa remembrance observation.

Ayize Sabater, Ed.D. Executive Director, AMI/USA