Reflections on an Ineffective Negro Leader
Despite our annual effort to remember it differently, Dr. King was universally criticized for his refusal to be a good “Negro leader”.
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RDPulpit: On the Betrayal of King’s Legacy and Culture Wars
Unlike the recent document claiming reconciliation between evangelicals and progressives the only way democracy has ever been expanded in the US, according to the Rev. Sekou, is by the defeat of conservative evangelical positions.
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We Are All God’s Got
We no longer have the focus of the civil rights movement or of the great leaders of that time, but we are called, nonetheless, to change our world.
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MLK SPECIAL: Awake From Dreaming—King to Obama
In a series of short essays, special to Religion Dispatches, religious historians, philosophers, and ethicists celebrate Obama’s place in American history while heeding Dr. King’s continued prophetic challenge for our nation.
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Sex, Race, and Religion: The Lessons of Proposition 8
Prop. 8 opponents frame the struggle in the context of the larger civil rights movement. But what if the right to marry for LGBT people is actually a question of religious freedom?
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Battling for the Soul of the Democratic Party
Since the 2004 defeat of John Kerry, a handful of religious Inside-the-Beltway Democrats—called the religious left by some—have seen their influence rise dramatically. But how progressive is their “broader agenda?” And what of religious left leaders who include reproductive justice and LGBT civil rights on their list?
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New Poll Shows Big Love For Gays
An interview with Neil Giuliano, president of GLAAD, in the wake of a new poll that shows much wider concern for LGBT rights than might be expected, even among conservative Christians.
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History in the Making: Religion, Race and Gender in the Presidential Election
A distinguished scholar and minister reflects on the persistence of racism in US political history, on the role of religion in political culture, and on the fulfillment of long-awaited vision of a world community built on justice and freedom.
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Op-Ed: Why is My Life Still Up for a Vote?
Gay and Lesbian people are weary of being used as a political and spiritual football, tired of being kicked around. This election brought history-making moments for progressives, but some crucial setbacks for the rights of gay citizens.
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Living to See the Day: Civil Rights Leaders and Obama
Forty years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act, veterans of the Civil Rights era still expected that they would not live to see an African American elected to the presidency. But iconic figures like C.T. Vivian supported Obama and believed that the arc was bending toward justice.
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