This week the city of Atlanta and the world remember the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr forty years ago. Today I received an email from Sojourners that I will share with you and leave it open for you to discuss during our chatterbox question. Here it is:Dear Dee
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. - a tragic end to a life spent moving the nation towards racial justice and reconciliation. But in the last few weeks, instead of building on his legacy, the news media have been in a feeding frenzy that plays on our worst fears and demeans the prophetic tradition of the black church.
Fox News has set the tone for much of this coverage. Even after Barack Obama rejected Rev. Wright's most incendiary comments, on-air host Sean Hannity asked whether Obama's candidacy was "dangerous for this country," saying, "if he agreed with Wright, and I don't know that he does, but if he did, that would mean a racist and an anti-Semite would be president of the United States."
Martin Luther King Jr. didn't endorse political candidates (and neither does Sojourners), but he knew something about attracting controversy from the pulpit. In fact, the week before his death, he was planning a sermon for that Sunday titled "Why America May Go to Hell."
But when King spoke difficult truths, he did so in the pursuit of what he called "the beloved community," believing the nation could overcome racial divisions not by ignoring them, but by coming together in the spirit of nonviolence to pursue the common good.
please join us in praying that we all might have the courage to continue in King's mission to "redeem the soul of America."
Blessings,
Adam, Allison, Duane and the rest of the team at Sojourners
Question: Does America Have a Soul? If so, does it need to be redeemed?
