Seeds of Justice

Jan 12, 2025 | jacquelinehoutman.substack.com | Jacqueline Houtman

On a snowy winter’s day in 1942, James Farmer and Jimmy Robinson* stopped into the Jack Spratt Coffee House on the south side of Chicago for coffee and donuts. “You’ll have to get out of here,” said the manager. “We can’t serve you here.”“Why can’t you?” asked Farmer, who was Black. Robinson’s white face had turned red. “I suppose you realize that there is a civil rights law in this state forbidding this kind of practice.

Nov 20, 2024 | jacquelinehoutman.substack.com | Jacqueline Houtman

When Mohandas Gandhi bent down to pick up a lump of salt from a beach on the western coast of India, it was big news. It was also against the law. The Salt Act of 1882 created a British monopoly on the manufacture and sale of salt in India. It was illegal for Indians to manufacture salt, or even to collect salt from naturally-occurring deposits. Instead, the salt was sold—and highly taxed—by the British. Despite the rich resources in India, salt was often imported from Great Britain.

Oct 14, 2024 | jacquelinehoutman.substack.com | Jacqueline Houtman

Like most Americans, I’ve been thinking about voting rights and voter suppression a lot lately. There’s not a lot in the original Constitution about voting, and throughout American history, the right to vote has been granted and restricted on the local, state, and federal level, both through direct legislation and by somewhat less direct means. One example is the grandfather clause.

Sep 4, 2024 | jacquelinehoutman.substack.com | Jacqueline Houtman

The son of Methodist missionaries, George Houser was a pacifist with a strong sense of social justice. After finishing his undergraduate degree, Houser decided to study for the ministry. He moved to Manhattan and entered Union Theological Seminary in 1938. While there, he joined the Seminary’s Social Action Committee, eventually becoming its chairman.

Jul 8, 2024 | jacquelinehoutman.substack.com | Jacqueline Houtman

Just before the Civil War, a Chicago businessman named George Pullman started manufacturing Pullman Palace Cars. These luxurious railroad cars had seats that converted to beds at night, with curtains to provide privacy, or in small private rooms. Well-to-do passengers could sleep comfortably during their train travel. Soon after the Civil War, Pullman began hiring formerly enslaved men to serve as porters on his Palace Cars. Pullman Porters carried luggage and prepared the beds each night.