Dickie Marcum

When he was nineteen years old, Dickie Marcum got a large tattoo of a swastika that covered part of his chest. As he recalls, “I had a lot of hate in my heart.”

Dickie matured into a different person over the years. The tattoo became a shameful reminder of the person he once was. Then he learned that Silkwood Tattoo in Hamilton, Ohio, was offering free cover ups for hateful or racist tattoos. Marcum decided that he would take them up on their offer. The tattoo had been on his chest for fifteen years. It was time for it to go. He decided to get it covered up on Juneteenth. He says, “The second I saw it, I felt free.”

Hatred confines people to a prison of their own making. The Bible constantly warns us against hatred and implores us to love. It is a constant battle to keep hatred out of our hearts so that love can dwell there. Let’s work hard to make sure that we don’t become imprisoned by hatred.

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.”—1 Peter 1:22.