Who was Thomas Starr King (& why it matters)
Thomas Starr King (December 17, 1824 - March 4, 1864)
Abraham Lincoln said he believed the Rev. Thomas Starr King was the person most responsible for keeping California in the Union during the early days of the Civil War. Keeping California as a free state was a likely tipping point for the Union's ultimate victory in that bloody conflict. Arguably, that makes Rev. Starr King one of the most important men in our history, yet very few know who he actually was.
Download the podcast from iTunes (episodes #59 & #60) or listen to the streaming audio broadcast of this amazing man's story on Sparkletack. I am not ashamed to say that I openly wept at the end of the story. As a community and a civil rights cause, we need to know this story because we can learn so much from his campaign in our newly minted state.
When he came to California in 1860, the state was bitterly divided on the issue of slavery. The population centers, San Francisco and Los Angeles, wanted the state to remain a free state, while the more rural agricultural and mining populations fiercely defended slavery. I hope I am not the only one who sees the Prop 8 parallel here.
Starr King turned the state around, not so much by rallying his friends (which he did) but by fearlessly and relentlessly confronting his foes. A great orator, he faced huge angry crowds of sessionists and delivered his powerful message of social justice over and over again.
Hear the story of how Starr King convinced the reluctant state to reject slavery and then, view THIS MAP OF PROP 8 VOTING RESULTS. I think it makes our duty very clear.
Trivia:
Did you know, he is the only person legally buried in the City of San Francisco? You can visit his sarcophagus at the corner of Franklin & Geary streets (officially Starr King way at that intersection) in front of the Unitarian Church.
