In the Name of Love

Early evening, April 4, shot rings out in the Memphis sky.
Free at last, they took your life, they could not take your pride.

Oftentimes in our past, when religious organizations and political parties have joined forces, religious groups have lost their prophetic voice, morphing into a political group that once was religious. This is one of my chief contentions with the Religious Right movement and most notably James Dobson. (Now I don’t want to go off on a James Dobson tangent, perhaps in another post.)

Every once in a while, though, religious voices rise up, challenge the status quo, and help usher justice into the laws of the land. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s effort for racial equality represents one of those times in our history where religious voices made a positive difference (in politics and religion). On this date 40 years ago, MLK was assassinated. As someone who was born in '76, it is hard for me to fathom the extent to which our country justified segregation just a few years before my birth. Schools, water fountains, restaurants, neighborhoods - all segregated simply due to the color of one's skin. King, along with other religious leaders, led the charge to point out these injustices. I am not naïve enough to think that we are in racial harmony now, discrimination and racism certainly still exist in all segments of America, but I do believe that the change brought forth through the civil rights movement has allowed my generation and my children's generation to begin to embrace racial differences not as something to be frightened of, but rather, as something to celebrate.

Our experience in inner-city Tampa taught me many things, one of which is the extent to which discrimination still exists. Having kids in our house after school everyday was such a joy - they were great kids who taught us a lot as we tried to minister to them. Of course, not everyone in the neighborhood shared our view. On one occasion, a neighbor's garage had been broken into during the school day. This "neighbor" confronted me in my front yard, angrily blaming the break-in on the kids that came to our house. As kindly as I could, I attempted to correct his cloudy and prejudiced view, but to no avail. I finally said, "In case you haven't noticed, we live in a bad neighborhood, so why you want to blame the kids who are staying out of trouble by being at our house is beyond me to understand. Plus, they're in school right now." (What I wanted to say was, "You're an idiot, get out of my yard," but he was pretty upset and I don't think I would be a good fighter.)

Our society has a long way to go - de facto segregation, subtle discrimination and racism, socio-economic prejudice - but big strides are being made as well. Much of our progress is due to the determination and prophetic leadership of MLK: "I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land… Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord." (MLK, April 3, 1968)