Standing for All People
"How many clothes can you wear? How many cars can you drive?... Some people get so caught up in the trappings of life... that they lose what is real. My desire is to help children realize that deep and simple are far, far more important than shallow and complicated and fancy."
- Fred Rogers 1999 (Archive of American TV)
- Fred Rogers 1999 (Archive of American TV)
When we recall activists in American history, Rogers rarely comes to mind. Yet his actions teach us that peace requires unity among people of all faiths, races, abilities, and genders. He repeatedly challenged stereotypes, modeling his belief that God loves us all.
“Rather than donning cut-off jeans and angrily pumping a peace sign while marching in the streets, he quietly modeled compassion as the antidote to violence..." - Michael Long, author of Peaceful Neighbor 2015 (Salon Media Group) |
Rogers took a stand in 1979 by supporting home recording in Sony Corp. v. Universal Studios. The 1984 Supreme Court ruling in favor of Sony cited his testimony: "... with the advent of all of this new technology that allows people to tape the 'Neighborhood' off-the-air... they then become much more active in the programming of their family’s television life... I am opposed to people being programmed by others."
- Fred Rogers in District Court 1979 (Mental Floss) |
Banner Image: Rogers in a classroom (School Library Journal/Lynn Johnson)