civil rights theologians

We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.

Use me, God. Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself.

Dr. Howard Thurman November 18, 1899-April 10, 1981

Alice Walker February 9, 1944-

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.

by Pastor Kaitlyn Forster (kaitlynf@lordoflife.org)

The powerful words above were written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his “Letter from the Birmingham Jail.” That letter1 may be one of the most important written documents of the Civil Rights movement and chronicles the journey they were on, and that we continue to tread. It weaves through centuries of injustice calling people to take action for the sake of their neighbor.

Being woven together in mutuality, or that ‘garment of destiny’ as he calls it, is also a profound statement of faith. For Dr. King, his actions and fight for freedom were deeply connected to his faith, and remind us of the letters Paul wrote to the Apostles in Scripture. This January, we celebrate Dr. King’s life, legacy, and the ways he enacted change in our society. He’s often the face of the Civil Rights movement, but he was far from the only voice of that era.

One of the ways we can honor his memory today is to lift up other voices that remind us of this interconnectedness.

For instance, Dr. Howard Thurman, author and theologian, was also a civil rights leader but a very different one than Dr. King. Instead of political activism, Thurman dug deeper into Scripture and his book, Jesus and the Disinherited, was one that Dr. King carried with him regularly. Because of his work, we too can read the biblical story as one where Jesus’ love stretches far and wide.

Alice Walker, most well known for her book, The ColorPurple, has a poetic ability to transport the reader into her stories and writings. Coming from the “womanist” perspective—a term coined by her that refers to the African American woman’s experience— she has influenced theologians and the world alike.

These are just two examples, of many, who have helped shape our world in similar ways to what Dr. King preached about often. Their voices uplift diversity, call out injustice, and remind us how we are all connected to one another.

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. –Dr. Howard Thurman

I think us here to wonder, myself. To wonder. To ask. And that in wondering bout the big things and asking bout the big things, you learn about the little ones, almost by accident. But you never know nothing more about the big things than you start out with. The more I wonder, the more I love. –Alice Walker