The American Civil Rights Movement was born and nurtured in the African American churches of the South, and the first President of the SCLC was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Today, try to remember that while a whole lot of awful things have been done in the name of Christianity, and many bad people call themselves Christians, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King were Christians too.
No, I am not a Christian, and yes, reports like this makes me very nervous. But there are a large number of African Americans residing in the American South, and a very high percentage of the African Americans who live here define themselves as Christians. Many, I would even say most, are smart, kind-hearted, engaged political progressives. They honor Dr. King with their good works every day.
Expressing bigotry toward Christians, and toward Southerners generally, hurts some very good people, and has racist aspects and overtones as well. So in honor of Dr. King, and because it’s the right thing to do, please knock it off!
Thanks for reading. Sermon over.
–Ann Bartow
My spouse called me on this very issue when I practically refused to purchase a beautiful photograph for our bedroom because the photographer had drawn a small fish above his signature.
I’ve gotten so used to being based by Christians that I’d fallen into the same trap of painting them all with the same brush. I apologized to her, and we bought the photograph. Thanks for the sermon!
Hey. no problem. It has been an adjustment for me, but if I didn’t have progressive Christian friends here in SC, my life would be a whole lot less fun, productive and interesting. To this day, the African-American churches are the centers of progressive activism in many SC communities, and I honor them for it.