Newspaper Page Text
U -
many readers know, Athens resident Ray MacNair
died on May 22 of Lou Gehrig's Disease. It was the
kind of thing that came on fast and got faster,
progressively robbing Ray—an otherwise exceptionally active
and physical man—in just a few months of his ability to
move and express himself. But speech and the ability to move
people, not to mention a huge sense of humor, were never in
short supply with Ray. When he lost his speech, he made jokes
with gestures, and when the gestures failed, he amped up the
wattage in his eyes until they shone so brightly, words were
almost irrelevant
. Ray and his wife Nancy are both great lovers of the richness
of human difference and all that it brings to our world and
communities. They've walked the talk of justice, respect and
community-building, whether as teachers in India; supporters
of the black power and civil rights movements in the '60s and
70s; helping to build a social work department at Tuskegee
during that same decade; or co-founding organizations like
the Economic Justice Coalition, and supporting, inspiring or
contributing to nearly every social justice initiative in Athens
since they moved here in 1975. You see these qualities even in
the way they relate within their own family, par
ent and child.
Ray's way of being in this world was remark
able in many ways, and that is why those of us
who knew and experienced him want you to know
about him, if you didn't already. For Ray, things
like age, color, sexual orientation and class were
all sources of bonds to be forged, not boundaries
to be created. He was always ready to be a part
ner with people of every sort of life experience-
celebrated them, actually. I never saw him pull
rank because he was older, experienced, degreed
or any of the other usual distinctions that often
trip us up.
Did you have big dreams but little know-how?
Or maybe you were jaded and worn down by an
excess of experience? Didn't matter—Ray knew
how to provide nutrients that allowed both the
individual and the'collective to flower. He knew
how to be a partner, an ally, a friend, a brother.
He was a rare and modest person who made
things happen without needing to be the center
of attention. The tributes that follow come from
many slices and colors of Athens' communities,
from day laborers to longtime black and white
residents to undocumented immigrants and for
mer students. They help us to reflect not only on
Ray's special qualities, but also on who we are in
Athens, where we've been and want to go, and
especially, what we could become if we all prac
ticed more of Ray's remarkable brand of humanity.
Stephanie Paladlno
[Note-. Some of the following tributes have been edited for
space. Please go to Flagpole.com to read them in their en
tirety, along with other reminiscences not included here.]
Nancy MacNair, Ray's wife
Ray and I met on a bus carrying Oberlin
College students to a peace vigil in Cleveland,
protesting the invasion of Hungary by Russia in
1956. Oberlin, for us, was a haven of liberalism,
and we thrived on that atmosphere, including
magnificent faculty, a small Quaker Meeting, and
a Peace Activities Group we started.
We often marveled that each of us, alone, weren't able to do
much, but together, we could dare to do a lot: teach in South
India for two years; work and live in the African-American
community of Tuskegee Institute for eight years; adopt two
biracial children (in addition to our two biological kids). We
supported each other on issues that mattered: immigration,
racial equality, living wage, climate change, HIV/AIDS, GLBT
rights and protesting war.
Ray was, indeed, a "passionate activist." His message to the
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Jan. 15, 2012 received a
standing ovation. In a "This I Believe" statement, he wrote,
"I believe that taking action is a spiritual journey, when it is
focused on promoting social justice... I cannot live without
taking action on these kinds of issues."
LeopoMo, day laborer
He left us great teachings, a man who understood the needs
of the undocumented, a man who would face the consequences
of improving our situation ih the work place, but without any
monetary interest of his own. We are.left feeling sad for this
great loss. We will remember everything he did for us, we know
that he lives in our hearts and we will keep his teachings to
continue the struggle. An angel, may he go with God, he was a
great man. We will never forget you, Mr. Ray MacNair.
Linda Lloyd, co-chair of the
Economic Justice Coalition
Ray Fights with the Georgia State Patrol: Around 2005, Ray
and I attended the 20th-something Poor People's Day March
at the Georgia State Capitol, organized by Sandra Robertson,
director of the Georgia Coalition on Hunger. This year, as the
Nancy and Ray MacNair in dark hair days.
group was ready to enter the Capitol for respective meet
ings with legislators, they were stopped from entering by the
Georgia State Patrol. I recalled looking on the side from the
crowd and seeing Ray in the face of one of the state patrol
men, saying, "Who do you think you are? We have appoint
ments with the state legislators." Then, the state patrolman
asked Ray, who did Ray think he was? Ray went into his
pocket, pulled out his driver's license and said he was Ray
MacNair. By this time, I am easing Ray away from the patrol
man. This story has more, but this is when I saw Ray's courage
and advocacy toward people that were left out.
The God in Dr. MacNair Saved Me: In 2003,1 was reunited
with my 1980 School of Social Work Professor Ray MacNair
through friends stating that they had been meeting with him
as part of the Athens Living Wage Coalition. They were looking
for a coordinator for the group. This began my journey with Dr.
MacNair, who gently reconditioned my title for him to Ray. Ray
and I traveled together and with others to living wage meet
ings in Atlanta and other places in North Georgia. We traveled
to North Carolina and Detroit, Michigan and this past summer
to Chicago. All in che name of civil rights and economic justice.
Now as I reflect back, Ray being co determined to help oth
ers with a living wage and health benefits and his overall quest
for workers' rights was the healing that I needed in my overall
10-year legal battle to defend the violation of my worker's
rights. Ray saved me from the bitterness that would have
occurred by the work done through his passion, determination
and commitment to the Economic Justice Coalition. Thus, the
GOD in Ray MacNair saved me.
The Kid in Ray MacNair: As a "get out the vote" strategy
in 2004, Ray was in the car with me in a mock funeral proces
sional for the death of Mr. and Mrs. I Don't Vote. We traveled
to several low-wealth neighborhoods with bullhorns, music, a
hearse, several other cars. Ray was so involved with the music,
using the bullhorn to tell folks to vote, we needed
them to vote. I will never forget that look of *
excitement, his dancing and being so involved
like a kid. This is symbolic of EJC's involvement
and leadership through Ray MacNair in collabora
tion with the community members and groups in
the registration of 10,000 voters since 2004.
Ray Finds Lilly: In 2008, Ray traveled to Dooly
County to attend an appreciation program that my
church was sponsoring for me. This is 150 miles
from Athens. I told Ray that when he exited off
of 75 at the Vienna exit, he would keep straight
on Highway 90, under the traffic light in Vienna,
to Lilly, which would be six miles. Lilly is where
the church was located. Instead, Ray turned left
under the light and went to Cordele, which is in
Crisp, the neighboring county.
When Ray spoke at the church to give his
remarks, he had the church hysterically laughing
when he told the folks how he went to Cordele
looking for Lilly, asking folks had they seen Lilly.
He talked about how folks looked at him funny. It
was the vision of a 69-year-old man looking for a
woman named Lilly, and he played it to the hilt in
his story. Lovingly, the group, as most people do,
warmed up to him.
Then, for months, with pride and excitement,
he told folks in Athens of the three-hour appre
ciation program my church had given me.
Rebecca MacNair-
Semands, Ray's daughter
My dad was the one who taught me to do
sprints 6n my elliptical machine when we both
stopped running. He taught me to walk in the
rain, and the harder the rain, the oetter the
walk. And to swim long distances in lakes with
your kids, just to explore the nooks and cran
nies of each corner. Many people who suffer from
something as cruel as ALS will talk at some point
about why they had led such a healthy lifestyle
and ended up being afflicted with something so
torturous.
Even when frustrated, he never uttered a word like that.
He instead just kept teaching those around him to care about
those that were underserved, in poverty, and the oppressed.
When he tost his voice and couldn't call the employers that
had cheated their day laborers or dropped them off without
pay, he had to give that job to someone else. He did it with
grace and never complained, coordinating with his friend
George, who continues this work today.
Dad would want us to give thanks and honor Humberto,
Armando, and of course, Linda Lloyd, dad's best friend and
co-chair of EJC, who called my dad her "hero" and walked with
him through every step of this path. In the hospital, though,
dad confused people. The aides and nurses looked at him funny
when this older white male kept having black people visit, and
one that was his youngest daughter!
8 FLAGPOLE.COM JUNE 13,2012