In A Human Rights Odyssey, allusions to music, both classical and popular, are prominent.  One important example is the hymn, Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around.  Both the rabbi of Rabbi Levin's youth and the director of Rabbi Levin's seminary marched with Martin Luther King back in the 1960s.  This song, among many, was chanted by protestors, especially during the march from Selma to Montgomery.  On the steps of the state Capitol, Martin Luther King proclaimed that marchers made it despite all potential dangers.  He proclaimed, "There ain't nobody who will turn us around."

Many years later Rabbi Levin co-leads a mission of diverse high school students to the Deep South.  He is accompanied by an educator and a Black minister.  When the group arrives in Montgomery, the Black minister, Pastor Roberta Conway, stands on the steps of the state capitol and proclaims that this mission is a success despite the skeptics in her church and in Rabbi Levin's synagogue.  She proclaims, "There ain't nobody who will turn us around."

A month later at an interfaith Thanksgiving program at Rodef Tzedek Synagogue, Rabbi Levin's congregation, Rabbi Levin declares that this event which has managed to involve many different religious and ethnics, is taking place, despite the skeptics.  He too proclaims, "There ain't nobody who will turn around."

In these divisive times, another thought for Martin Luther King Day.