Many chapters in the story of the Civil Rights movement have been forgotten, modified or intentionally misrepresented. White Americans tend to imagine the movement as less controversial than it was, white resistance as less violent than it was, and the…
The importance of remembering the March on Washington in 2023
On Aug. 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech that touched millions of people around the world. King is painted as the main character of this event because of his speech, but what…
Photo essay: 60th anniversary of the March on Washington
Roderious Phillips is a freelance photojournalist based in Macon, Ga. A native of the Mississippi Delta, he is a recent graduate of Mercer University.
60 years later, only our action can keep the dream alive
In August 2013, I was serving as a pastor on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. All month long, there was a feeling of excitement in the air. That Aug. 28 marked the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, the…
This church wanted an examination of its history, not just a coffee table book
The Olin T. Binkley Memorial Baptist Church didn’t want the typical chronicle or hagiography when it asked historian Andrew Gardner to write its congregational history. “And we didn’t want a coffee table book of nice pictures,” said Senior Minister Marcus…
U.S. urged to respond to plight of Black Mauritanians
Activists are stepping up pressure on the U.S. to grant asylum and other protections to Black Mauritanians facing imprisonment, torture, execution and slavery in the northwest African nation. Mauritanian diaspora leaders and other advocates participated in a June 6 webinar…
How King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ parallels the Tennessee Three
It was Holy Week and two young Black men, motivated by the courage of their Christian convictions, took part in a nonviolent demonstration. Colleagues chided them for their participation. It was “untimely” given the circumstances, they complained. Furthermore, the young…
MLK’s civil rights work was an outgrowth of his Baptist tradition, author explains
Martin Luther King’s role as a Civil Rights leader was heavily influenced by the Baptist tradition that gave structure to his ministry and activism, Jeremiah Chester said during a webinar presented by Baptist History and Heritage Society. “We can’t separate…
The other speech Martin Luther King gave at Southern Seminary in 1961
Sixty-two years ago this spring, Martin Luther King Jr. famously preached in chapel at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. The date was April 19, 1961. What is less remembered is that King also spoke that day in a…