More than 20 faith leaders and civil rights veterans met Monday at Ebenezer Baptist Church to discuss ways to mark the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and the historic deliverance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Congregations in metro Atlanta and around the nation are encouraged to designate Aug. 27 as “Share the Dream Sunday.” They want to spread Dr. King’s message to younger generations and build a community around the principles of love, conscience, freedom, justice, perseverance and hope.
“During the civil rights movement, the faith community played a leading role and we would like to see that happen again,” said Matthew Daniels, chairman of law and human rights at the Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C.
In observance of the 60th anniversary, On Aug. 8, Harper Christian Resources will release a biblical video and print Bible study, “Share the Dream: Shining a Light in a Divided World through Six Principles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”
The study guide and streaming video will be released n conjunction with the anniversary of the “I Have a Dream” speech.
The study is co-hosted by Daniels and Chris Broussard,a journalist with FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports Radio.
The March on Washington was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. More than 250,000 jammed the area near the Lincoln Memorial in the nation’s capitol to demand voting rights, fair wages, equal access to a quality education and economic justice.
Harper Christian Resources has joined with Urban Ministries Inc. and the KING Movement on the project.
Each lesson includes teachings, discussions and real-life applications.
Among those attending Monday’s meeting was Dr. Walter Young, the brother of former Mayor Andrew Young, a retired dentist and a civil rights veteran in his own right.
“We have to find ways to keep Dr. King’s dream alive, not just in America, but around the world,” said Young who works with youth through the Andrew & Walter Young Family YMCA on Campbellton Road in Atlanta. “Dr, King had a dream that he was beginning to take global .”
Young worries that many youth don’t know about King’s dream. He said they know his name is on street signs and building, it’s sad that too many don’t know about the movement or the man.
It’s not by chance the meeting was held at Ebenezer, where King once served as co-pastor, and in Atlanta, which is one of the cradles of the civil rights movement and was home to to others who had role in the civil rights movement such as James Orange, Ralph D. Abernathy Sr., Hosea Williams, Dorothy Bolden Rep. John Lewis, Joseph E. Lowery and Coretta Scott King..
“I think really the most important piece is not just an idealized version of Dr. King, which often times gets very soft and fuzzy,” said the Rev. John H. Vaughn, Ebenezer’s executive pastor.
Rather, he would also like to see “a true engagement around this intersection of dealing with issues around race and poverty,”
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