MLK50

Another funeral for King

By Raphael Warnock — April 6, 2018

(RNS) — 'Fifty years after Martin Luther King died, America needs to hold a national funeral for King — the faux King we have created — so that we might hear anew the real King calling us to what he called a revolution of values,' writes Raphael G. Warnock, pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church. (Commentary)

King in Montgomery: A white Southern Baptist minister reflects

By Alan Cross — April 5, 2018

(RNS) — If we benefit from the status quo, we can seek to maintain it rather than recognize that a wheel of injustice might be grinding our neighbor down. King shone a light on that injustice and it often made white Christians uncomfortable. His words and legacy, if we listen, still make us uncomfortable today.

King’s death remembered with pledges to confront racism

By Adelle M. Banks — April 4, 2018

WASHINGTON (RNS) — 'Certainly, ending racism might seem like an aspiration but, like the very first disciples, we followers of Jesus are called to bear witness to something that the world cannot yet believe is possible,' said the Rev. Sharon Watkins, director of the National Council of Church's Truth and Racial Justice Initiative.

Picture a King

By Kit Doyle — April 3, 2018

(RNS) — Fifty years after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., images still convey the power of his work.

From the black church to India: The theology of Martin Luther King Jr.

By Kimberly Winston — April 2, 2018

(RNS) — Montgomery. Albany. Birmingham. Selma. Washington, D.C. In each of these places King demonstrated an evolving theology.

King convinced me to give my whole life to the church and his dream

By Malcolm Clemens Young — March 30, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO (RNS) — Above all, what most impresses me all these years later is the power of Martin Luther King Jr.’s message. It is the antithesis to the 'America First' slogan.

Don’t domesticate MLK

By Tom Krattenmaker — March 30, 2018

(RNS) — Whenever we remember the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., some people inevitably pull out a piece of sandpaper and try to smooth the sharp edges of the great civil rights prophet.

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.

As King anniversary nears, 3 Memphis sites key to his legacy draw visitors

By Adelle M. Banks — March 29, 2018

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (RNS) — Two of the three sites are houses of worship.

When Martin Luther King Jr. broke his silence on Vietnam

By Amy Butler — March 29, 2018

NEW YORK (RNS) — In 'Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,' King reminded his listeners of why he began the work for which he would ultimately give his life.

MLK’s last Sunday sermon is as relevant today as it was in 1968

By Randolph Marshall Hollerith — March 28, 2018

WASHINGTON (RNS) — On issues of gun violence, racism, economic inequality or immigration, our human instinct is to not offend and to wait for others to act. He challenged the institutional oppression of his day and calls us to confront the injustices of our own time.

A faithful journey from cotton field to White House: Q&A with a sanitation worker

By Adelle M. Banks — March 28, 2018

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (RNS) — The Rev. Cleophus Smith marched in 1968 with black laborers supported by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in their efforts to improve working conditions. A month before the 50th anniversary of King's assassination, Smith, 75, talked with Religion News Service about his dual roles as an associate minister and a sanitation worker.

Remembering King’s last sermon with renewed hope