A message of nonviolence Retired Congressman Glenn Poshard holds silent march in front of courthouse

Retired U.S. Congressman Glenn Poshard led a peaceful march calling for nonviolence and respect for democracy in front of the Randolph County Courthouse in Chester, Thursday, Oct. 22.

Beginning Sept. 28, Poshard and his wife, Jo, started holding silent marches at each of 39 courthouses in the two districts he represented in Congress.

In Chester about a dozen individuals took part, some holding signs of their own and some carrying signs Poshard provided. Signs touted such messages as "Be Kind To One Another," "We Believe in Non-Violence," "Humans Are Not Illegal," "With Malice Toward None." All participants wore masks and socially distanced.

The walk lasted approximately 20 minutes, followed by a brief address by Poshard, who served as a Democrat in Congress representing southern Illinois from 1989-1999.

He spoke of his associations with the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, stressing the nonviolence credo by which Lewis lived. John Lewis, he said, followed in the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King in showing that we can be passionate in our march toward justice without resorting to violence.

Poshard also quoted President Abraham Lincoln: "If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time or die by suicide."

"Are we there?" Poshard asked. "Are we on the path? While we pray America will never endure another Civil War, we can destroy ourselves from within through the hate and violence being espoused by too many."

Poshard reminded those in attendance of the final words of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address: "With malice toward none; with charity for all ... let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; ... to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."

Congressman Poshard completed the event with the recitation of the Gettysburg Address.

Following the Chester event, the Poshards continued to the Monroe County Courthouse in Waterloo and to the St. Clair County Courthouse in Belleville to hold similar events, completing their 39-county nonviolence pilgrimage.