Civil Rights Movement
Praying and cussing at the trial by ordeal of Ketanji Brown Jackson
By Cheryl Townsend Gilkes — March 31, 2022
(RNS) — The inspiration and outrage of an accomplished Black woman's confirmation hearings
Andrew Young, at 90, views his civic, political roles ‘as a pastorate’
By Adelle M. Banks — March 4, 2022
(RNS) — ‘My model for almost every job I've had has been the model of a pastor servicing a congregation,’ said the former mayor and civil rights leader.
Last parent of a child killed in 1963 church bombing dies
By Associated Press — January 3, 2022
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Maxine McNair, the last living parent of any of the four Black girls killed in a 1963 Alabama church bombing, died Sunday. She was 93. McNair’s family announced her death in a press release. A cause of death was not given. McNair’s daughter, 11-year-old Denise McNair, was the youngest girl killed […]
Abraham Joshua Heschel was a spiritual radical. A new documentary shows he’s more timely than ever
By Yonat Shimron — May 3, 2021
(RNS) — A Polish-born Jew from a long line of Hasidic rabbis, he immigrated to America in 1940 and quickly rose to become a leading public intellectual — a civil rights crusader, a champion of interfaith dialogue and an opponent of the Vietnam War.
Remembering the Black female leaders of the civil rights movement
By Eboo Patel — March 24, 2021
(RNS) — The truth is, we remember much of the civil rights movement through its very visible male leaders. But there were so many women, both behind the scenes and on the front lines, who shaped the movement.
William Bobby McClain, leader in United Methodist Church and civil rights movement, dies at 82
By Emily McFarlan Miller — November 19, 2020
(RNS) — McClain was a pastor and professor who not only shaped the lives of the students he taught but also countless United Methodists with the creation of the groundbreaking hymnal 'Songs of Zion' and as an original member of the group that organized Black Methodists for Church Renewal.
How law-and-order evangelicals helped shape today’s criminal justice system
By Yonat Shimron — November 16, 2020
(RNS) — Evangelicals have largely championed the rise of mass incarceration, writes Aaron Griffith in his new book. They've also undertaken novel ministries to try to bring compassion, healing and conversion to those behind bars.
The challenge civil rights giants leave us
By Jim Wallis and Adam Taylor — July 27, 2020
(RNS) — We can honor these civil rights giants by voting to elect leaders at every level who are committed to transforming public safety so that everyone can experience equal justice under the law.
Four ways to tell a prophet from a political puppet
By Thomas Reese — June 11, 2020
(RNS) — Today, there are prophetic voices on almost every issue: pro-life prophets and feminist prophets. How can we judge true from false?
My generation failed to deal with racism
By Thomas Reese — June 1, 2020
(RNS) — We cheered for black athletes, we welcomed a few blacks to our schools and workplaces, but we still live separate lives in our gated communities.
For storied civil rights center, Highlander Center fire is an echo of the past
By Yonat Shimron — April 5, 2019
(RNS) — This isn't the first time the renowned civil rights center, where the Rev. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks came to strategize, has been targeted.
Martin Luther King Jr., by the book
By Kimberly Winston — March 29, 2018
(RNS) — Ten books to add depth and understanding to the April 4 anniversary of King's assassination in 1968.
A freedom ride through the heart of the black South
By Willie J. Keaton Jr. — April 28, 2017
(RNS) Here my goal was relaxation, but it was replaced by a study in what one speaker called 'black gold.'
Camps teach kids to put their faith into action
By Jesse James DeConto — July 5, 2016
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) Across the U.S., churches are joining with social-change organizations to teach children and youth about the civil rights movement and how they might be part of its renewal.
Why civil rights and LGBT equality are joined at the hip
By guest — June 1, 2016
(RNS) The black community and the LGBT community are not mutually exclusive and neither “community” is monolithic. We are interconnected by our humanity.
