Remembering Vashti’s Victory: McCollum Decision Is Landmark Of Liberty � The Wall of Separation
It seems that the right cries “judicial activism” any time the high court renders a decision that maintains the separation of church and state regardless of legal precedent or the clear mandates of the Constitution. In 1963, the Religious Right cried activism when the Supreme Court held school-sponsored Bible reading in the public schools to be unconstitutional. Madalyn Murray O’Hair, an atheist and one of the plaintiffs, became “America’s most hated woman,” according to a 1964 edition of Life Magazine.
Even after her tragic death, agents of the right continued to blame O’Hair for removing prayer and religion from the public schools. But how short their memory; McCollum was decided fifteen years earlier. Decade after decade, the court has held that the public schools are no place for government-sanctioned religious indoctrination. McCollum set an enduring precedent.
Today, as we commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the McCollum decision, the world also celebrates International Women’s Day by recognizing the achievements of women in all spheres of public life. So, we trumpet Vashti McCollum for her bravery and dedication to the Constitution, the public schools and true religious liberty.
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1 comments:
Thank you for remebering and honoring my mother's epic battle in the mid-40s, resulting in her landmark victory! She truly lived up to the name her parents gave her after the corageous woman mentioned in the first chapter of the Book of Esther!
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