Pause to give thanks to those who are doing good work in Iowa City
In a world that has been especially frightening, violent, and unstable of late, let's take a moment to remember the origins of Thanksgiving and pause for gratitude.
The holiday season is upon us. The Halloween decorations are down, and the Thanksgiving decorations are coming up. (We won’t comment on certain December holidays that do not know their place in the order of things.) In a world that has been especially frightening, violent, and unstable of late, we want to remember how Thanksgiving became an official American holiday.
Prior to 1830, Thanksgiving was a local and regional holiday. Then, substantially owing to the efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale, a prominent author, editor, and women’s education advocate, the holiday spread and took root in thirty states by the 1850s. (You probably know Hale as the author of the poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” but she was the editor of the largest women’s magazine of the 1860s and had a hand in building the reputation of Vassar College.)
After the Civil War broke out in 1861, Hale continued to advocate for those Thanksgiving feasts to become a federal holiday, urging readers to “put aside sectional feelings and local incidents” and rally around the unifying cause of Thanksgiving. Even as she advocated, both Confederate President Jefferson Davis and United States President Abraham Lincoln declared days of thanksgiving following their respective battle victories, using Thanksgiving to stir sectarian sentiments instead of unifying ones.
In 1863, Hale finally convinced Lincoln to adopt the holiday as a permanent fixture for the United States, to always take place on the fourth Thursday of November. After the war, Americans were urged to celebrate it to come together again.
These days, about 90% of Americans celebrate Thanksgiving--and getting 90% of Americans to do anything together seems quite a feat right now. We are divided in ways that sometimes prompt dire predictions ranging from a new civil war to a descent into autocracy to an American version of the Troubles. In even worse times, Hale knew the importance of remembering gratitude in bringing us together. So in no particular order, here are a few of things we are grateful for this year:
Local businesses. Our friends and neighbors own them, and they support local causes ranging from our schools to fine arts organizations. In the depths of the pandemic, many of us helped them keep their doors open. Now let’s help them prosper.
Local charitable organizations like CommUnity, DVIP, Shelter House, Inside Out Reentry Community, Emma Goldman, United Way, and the Iowa City Free Medical Clinic, who catch our community members when they fall through the holes in the safety net. Let’s support them in strengthening our community.
Local arts organizations like the Englert, Hancher, Public Space One, and FilmScene. They punch far above their weight in getting world-class art, artists, and entertainment to a metro area of under 200,000 people. Our patronage helps them enrich our lives and keeps our community vibrant.
Nonpartisan advocacy organizations like the League of Women Voters, Iowa Women’s Foundation, ACLU, and Moms Demand Action. They have faced increasing hostility from partisan operatives and have borne it all with grace, humor, and unflagging advocacy for the common good. May we all follow their example.
Our most local of local organizations, our Parent (Student) Teacher Organizations and neighborhood associations. They work hard to build community and local traditions. Let’s join them in bringing our community together and working for everyone.
This Thanksgiving, we urge you to take a moment to appreciate the people and organizations that are making a difference in our lives, our community, and beyond and who are working toward the common good. In troubling times, when it can be difficult to talk to others across the aisle, it’s especially important to acknowledge and practice gratitude for what is going right in the world. We are lucky in the Iowa City area to have a wealth of organizations doing excellent work in the face of serious obstacles. We are thankful for all of them.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Kelcey Patrick-Ferree and Shannon Patrick live in Iowa.
A version of this piece was published in the Iowa City Press-Citizen on November 17, 2022.