On May 17, 1954, in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, the Supreme Court ended segregation in schools. Today, a national historical site honoring that decision sits less than a mile from the Kansas State Capitol.
On Thursday, just a few weeks shy of the 62nd anniversary of that decision, about 4,300 people gathered at the Capitol for what could become another historical moment. This time, it’s not about bringing students together in a classroom but about unifying people of all ages and backgrounds in prayer.
“We’re all here together; look at us. And we’re all here for the same reason,” said Ann DeWitt, surveying the crowd.
DeWitt and her two sisters, Arrie and Ruth Williams, brought lawn chairs to Franklin Graham’s 19th Decision America Tour stop in Topeka, but DeWitt was too exhilarated to sit down.
“We came out today to praise God,” she said—not just for who He is, but for what He is going to do across America. People need to pray both with humility and expectation, she said.
“We are glad we have a God that can do exceedingly more than we can ask,” DeWitt said. She’s praying for unity among Christians and that her fellow believers will “stop compromising” when it comes to living out their faith.
“We are living in probably the most dangerous period of our history as it relates to our country,” Franklin Graham said later from the stage. “America is being stripped of its biblical heritage.”
His voice echoed between the surrounding buildings as he stood flanked by state and local leaders on either side of the Capitol steps.
“The enemy is trying to keep Christians’ mouths shut” by making them afraid to speak out, Franklin Graham said. But he isn’t into backing down.
“I’m not here to put down anybody’s religion. I’m not here to put down what people believe,” he said, but he is reminding people what America was founded on.
Judging from loud applause throughout the rally, Topeka hasn’t forgotten.
Marsha Good stood near the front of the crowd wearing a Wake Up America T-shirt advertising next week’s National Day of Prayer. Her husband Chris wore a hat with the same phrase.
“If you don’t have a fixed point to judge everything else on … it’s confusion,” he said, referring to the importance of keeping God as the center and foundation of America.
Marsha stood next to him with her Decision America prayer journal in hand, full of notes and prayers for each state along the tour. Thursday, though, her focus was on her home state of Kansas.
“I think it’s going to be an historic event,” she said about the tour stop.
Others in the crowd agreed this could be a turning point in their community and in America at large.
As 17-year-old Noah Hoskins put it, “We’ve seen revivals before,” and it can happen again.
Franklin Graham later spoke about Daniel in the Bible, a man of God in a wicked nation. Daniel faithfully prayed for God’s direction and help and was honored for it.
“Prayer changes things,” DeWitt asserted, her sisters agreeing behind her.
DeWitt loves Franklin Graham’s dedication to God, she said, and to God’s people. She said the Decision America Tour has encouraged her to be more diligent about getting up early and spending time with God.
“It’s time to get busy, time to get serious about our walk with God,” she said. “Time to wear out our knees.”
