Jan. 15 marked the 97th birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. The American Baptist Home Mission Society celebrates his legacy as the foremost prophet of the 20th century, who also was an activist for biblical and social justice, liberator, truth teller and peacemaker.
Recalling King’s legacy prompts us to grapple with the timeless meaning of his messages for the current turmoil unfolding in America. I continue to ponder the relevance of King’s admission in 1963 of feeling maladjusted. He said the following words:
There are certain things in our nation and in the world which I am proud to be maladjusted and which I hope all men (and women) of goodwill will be maladjusted until the good societies realize. I say very honestly that I never intend to become adjusted to segregation and discrimination. I never intend to become adjusted to religious bigotry. I never intend to adjust myself to economic conditions that will take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few. I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism, to self-defeating effects of physical violence.
The above statements aptly characterize the widescale social and political unrest across our nation that has emerged in response to the callous and inhumane policies of the Trump administration.
This year’s King holiday marked one year since the inauguration of America’s current president. It is gut-wrenching to assess the amount of disrespect for America’s Constitution and laws, disregard for human life and the rights of everyday people, damage to our individual and collective sense of safety and community, and discontent created in the very soul of our nation due to the countless assaults on our institutions, cities, immigrants and our way of life.
I stand with Christian leaders across our nation who condemn the devastation, destruction and disruption we see happening at the hands of our federal government. Tragically, a majority in Congress and on the Supreme Court — both coequal branches of the federal government — have refused to end the rogue conduct of the current administration. Thus, Americans, feeling the pain and weight of the social, moral, economic and political maladjustment caused by the administration, are pouring onto our streets, into town halls, houses of worship, college campuses and wherever they can to resist the tyranny of evil promoted by the White House.
“This administration has wrought havoc on communities across our nation, and a growing majority of Americans are resisting.”
Countless Americans have taken to the streets in the past year to declare that “we are maladjusted” due to the corrupt and unjust policies that are harming Americans. We reject the violence committed by federal agents against those who are opposing the policies of the current administration that affect voting rights, access to health care and labor, access to quality education, immigration, the environment and so much more.
In only one year, this administration has wrought havoc on communities across our nation, and a growing majority of Americans are resisting. The resistance reflects the additional sentiments expressed by King when he spoke about feeling maladjusted in the following:
This hour in history needs a dedicated circle of transformed nonconformists. Our planet teeters on the brink of annihilation; dangerous passions of pride, hatred and selfishness are enthroned in our lives; and men (and women) do reverence before false gods of nationalism and materialism. The saving of our world from pending doom will come not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.
King fully understood the risks inherent in resisting spiritual wickedness, the powers and principalities of his day. He eventually paid the ultimate cost with his own life on April 4, 1968, because he prioritized the salvation of the soul above personal gain.
The periods of American enslavement, the Civil War, Jim Crow segregation and the Civil Rights Movement were violent eras in America when untold millions of Americans lost their lives at the hands of evildoers, and King was part of that great throng of martyrs. Tragically, America has now entered a new era of chaos, corruption and injustice when tragically our fellow citizens are once again suffering violence while opposing injustice and speaking truth to unjust political power.
My prayer is that our current feelings of maladjustment and acts of resistance will lead to a new era of justice and peace. I pray for an end to the violence against all those who are standing up for justice, civility, decency and Beloved Community. May the example set by Martin Luther King inspire us all to stand up for the rights of all those facing oppression, especially for the immigrants and newcomers among us in this nation of immigrants.
God have mercy on America in this time of grave tribulation. Lord, grant to your children courage and wisdom for the facing of this hour, for the pulling down of immoral strongholds, and for the building up of a new Beloved Community.
Jeffrey Haggray serves as executive director of American Baptist Home Mission Societies and Judson Press. This article was originally published by The Christian Citizen and is used here by permission.