A MESSAGE FROM THE PUBLISHER
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.
Freedom is more than the absence of physical bondage. It is the release of the mind from fear, the spirit from silence, and the soul from oppression. A people may walk without chains, yet still be shackled by voices that seek to suppress their truth, erase their history, deny their humanity, and break their will to fight for it. True freedom demands more. It demands the courage to speak and the space to be heard.
What does freedom sound like when its bell is muffled? What does liberty mean if its echo is drowned out by those who seek to silence the very voices that make it real? Freedom cannot ring on its own; it needs the voices of the courageous people who fight, sacrifice, and stand tall against the constant nagging of oppression that insists they remain quiet.
The irony of America’s promise is that the sound of freedom is too often contested. The song of liberty, instead of being a unifying chorus, becomes a battlefield of sound truth against lies, justice against injustice, the oppressed against the oppressor. And when those who dare to raise their voices for freedom are vilified, ostracized, or targeted by those in positions of power, whether in government halls or even from pulpits in religious institutions, the very soul of freedom trembles.
History has shown us: freedom’s melody has never been given freely. It was sung through the crack of whips, shouted over the roar of water hoses, prayed through bars of jail cells, and demanded on the steps of courthouses. It was carried in sermons, in editorials, in songs, and in protests. And each time, those who sang were told to be quiet. Each time, power tried to drown out their sound.
Yet the truth remains, freedom cannot exist without a voice. If liberty’s song is silenced, then the bell does not ring. Instead, we hear the hollow clanging of oppression masquerading as order, control dressed up as morality, and silence sold as peace.
To let freedom ring is to defend the voice of dissent. It is to protect the unpopular speech, the inconvenient truth, the uncomfortable cry for justice. And it is to name, without fear, those who would muzzle freedom under the guise of authority or religion.
The question before us today is simple: will we allow the bell of freedom to toll fully and clearly, or will we let it be smothered beneath the weight of fear, power, and silence? If freedom is to ring at all, it must ring with the voices of the people—bold, unashamed, and unwavering.
For without their voice, freedom is only an idea. With their voice, freedom is a living sound resonant, undeniable, unstoppable.
Let freedom ring loud and unmistakably clear—free from ANY semblance of fear, or oppression.
Excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr. – “I Have a Dream” Speech (1963)
”And when this happens, and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.
