Racial Justice Sunday
I Have a Dream – The Legacy of
Martin Luther King Jr
Dreams of a Beloved Community
Racial Justice & The Bible
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in
Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28)
“that you might have him back for good— no longer as a slave, but better than a slave,
as a dear brother.” (Philemon 1:16)
Isaiah 1:17-18: “Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the
fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”
Isaiah 61:8: "For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity.”
Micah 6:8: “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD
require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Proverbs 31:8-9 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights
of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and
needy.”
Racial Justice and The Bible
So Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly understand that
God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears
Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.” Acts 10: 34-35
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the
scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your
blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and
language and people and nation, and You have made them a
Kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the
earth. Revelation 5: 9-10
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another;
just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John
13: 34
Matthew 12:20 “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he leads justice to victory.”
Mark 10:42-45, Jesus said “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord
it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead,
whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be
first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and
to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Martin Luther King Jr’s Words
Dreams of a Beloved Community
50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King’s
famous speech
President Abraham Lincoln had introduced
the Emancipation proclamation on 1 January
1863
MLK believed that the freedom in the
Emancipation Proclamation had never been
realised
Dreams of a Beloved Community
MLK joined 250,000 other Americans to
commemorate the centenary of this
Proclamation
The March on Washington was a call for all
Americans to re-commit themselves to this
promise
Dreams of a Beloved Community
The slave trade was abolished in the British
empire in 1807
The Anti-Slavery Society was established in
1823
Slavery was abolished in the British Empire in
1833
Dreams of a Beloved Community
Samuel Sharpe........
.........was a Baptist Minister who led the Baptist
War in Jamaica in 1831. This was a large scale
revolt in the form of a peaceful strike.
Dreams of a Beloved Community
Rosa Parks.........
...................best known for refusing to give up
her seat on the bus to a white passenger.
Dreams of a Beloved Community
Sojourner Truth.......
.............born a slave and abused as a child by
her owners, Sojourner Truth was inspired by
God to run away and become a preacher and
activist.
Dreams of a Beloved Community
Paul Bogle........
......................born into slavery in St Thomas,
Jamaica Paul Bogle became a Baptist minister.
Best known for leading the Morant Bay
Rebellion.
Dreams of a Beloved Community
Jesse Jackson........
................politician, Baptist minister and civil
rights leader. Was a close associate of MLK.
Dreams of a Beloved Community
Malcolm X....
.......born Malcolm Little, he was introduced to
Nation of Islam while in prison. He later
became a Sunni Muslim believing in
brotherhood between Black and White
people.
Dreams of a Beloved Community
• Stokely Carmichael..............
• ...............born in Trinidad, he was a civil rights
activist who called for “Black power.” He later
changed his name to Kwame Ture and was
briefly married to Miriam Makeba.
Dreams of a Beloved Community
Nelson Mandela........
.........South African anti-apartheid revolutionary
and icon. After serving 27 years in prison, he
later became the first Black president of South
Africa.
Dreams of a Beloved Community
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu......
• ............South African social rights activist and
retired Anglican bishop. An opponent of
apartheid and a defender of human rights.
Dreams of a Beloved Community
Revelations chapter 7 verses 9-10
“After this I looked and there before me was a great
multitude that no-one could count, from every
nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb,
robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice saying,
‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the
throne, and to the Lamb!”
Dream of a Beloved Community
Famous Black Baptist Ministers
Dr Freddie Haynes, Dallas
Dr Raphael Warnock, Atlanta
Dr Calvin Butts, New York
Revd Fred Luter Jr, first Black president of the
US Southern Baptist Convention
Dreams of a Beloved Community
A Dreamer or a Visionary?
Dreams and visions featured frequently in The
Bible, especially the Old Testament
The significance of this to prophecy and God’s
plans????
Is there a difference?
What are our dreams for Penge and PBC?