Search for "Martin Luther King Jr."

Illinois Pastors and Politicians Paint King as Homophobe

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…es gathered near Chicago yesterday to paint a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a homophobe, um, I mean, a “man of God and a leader who fought for the civil rights of African Americans [who] was not a champion for gay rights.” To properly remember King, according to David E. Smith, executive director of Illinois Family Institute, who attended the luncheon, people must remember that “Martin Luther King was first a minister of God.” As a mini…

Roe v. Wade: What Would MLK Do?

By Tamura Lomax

…henomena: today commemorates the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and tomorrow marks the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Significantly, both King and Roe v. Wade represent aspects of the civil rights manifold: one emphasizes the personhood of all humanity regardless of race, and the other insists upon one’s right to choice despite gender. Ironically, the battleground for civil rights based on race and gender remains under social…

Rallies Honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s Support of Organized Labor

By Lauri Lebo

Forty-three years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, shot standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. He had been in Memphis on behalf of the sanitation workers, who were striking for the right to organize and collectively bargain with the city. Their campaign slogan, I AM A Man, was a reference to the dignity they believed should be afforded to all workers. Elmore Nickelberry was one of the men who marched alongside…

MLK’s ‘Dream’, Unrealized and Undigested

By Svend White

…ngly thought-provoking Associated Press item on the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. in connection with the holiday commemorating him and his critical legacy. I especially like how the article points out that, contrary to the comforting revisionism that reigns, King was not universally acclaimed and supported after his advent in American national consciousness, even a decade after his legendary speech. It’s relatively well-known that elements in th…

MLK Monument That Never Was, is a Reminder of the King Too Often Ignored

By Ed Simon

…he controversy surrounding the selection of a design for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, there was one unofficial proposal so quietly audacious that even the man who put it forward, art historian Kirk Savage, had to admit that it “would never happen.” Savage believed, as he told the New York Times‘ Shaila Dewan in 2008, that the most fitting memorial to Dr. King would have been a “life-size statue of him, placed on the steps of the Lincoln Me…

MLK SPECIAL: Awake From Dreaming—King to Obama

By Jonathan L. Walton

On the occasion—or rather double-occasion—of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, Religion Dispatches contributor and editor-at-large Jonathan Walton has curated a selection of perspectives—on the perils of history, the lure of symbolism, the promise of the future, and the meaning of race and religion in America. We have borrowed the name of today’s e-anthology from Edward Blum’s contribution, in which he…

Meeting on the Bridge: Fr. James Martin’s Ministry to LGBT Catholics Becomes a Book

By Kaya Oakes

…tues are Christian virtues. One of the things that always comes to mind is Martin Luther King, and the way he counseled people who were facing persecution. And I think of those people sitting at the luncheonette counters in the South, and the way that they were always respectful, even when they were being persecuted. That’s a good model for anyone. Those photos always comes to mind when people ask that question. It’s powerful for me, and that mode…

Why I Fear The Post-Trayvon Martin Sermon

By Elizabeth Drescher

…change—during “the most segregated hour of the week,” as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously put it? Now, the priest at my church is a fine preacher. I am certain she was up through the night retooling a sermon on the week’s gospel reading, the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), to make clear the links between the Trayvon Martin case and Jesus’s teachings about who our neighbors are—who merits our unconditional compassion and care—in…

Obama and King: History in Motion

By Leslie D. Callahan

…ecome highlights the moral leadership and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose commitments we celebrate in the holiday that bears his name. Throughout the election season, candidates acknowledged the significance of Dr. King’s vision and claimed his legacy for themselves as individuals and for the process of the primary and general election itself. From Hillary Rodham Clinton’s speech commemorating the Selma demonstrations to John McCa…

Why I Wrote the Freedom Seder And Why It’s Still Necessary 50 Years After Dr. King’s Assassination

By Arthur Waskow

…the transformation of my life began with the volcanic news that Dr. Martin Luther King had been killed. Just a week later—a week of upheaval in my city and our country—the volcano of transformation entered within me, minutes before Passover began. Passover? Why was that suddenly so shattering? I had always taken the Seder seriously, but I was astounded to feel this moment shaking me to my core. Why was this Passover different from any other Passov…