Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, the civil rights protest that featured Martin Luther King, Jr., giving his eloquent “I Have a Dream” speech. The Washington Post printed a number of accounts from people who were there.
Raymond S. Blanks tells about meeting at his Baptist congregation and holding a prayer service before getting on the bus to Washington. He describes marchers singing hymns and listening to sermons. “Before noon,” he recalls, “the Mall was transformed into a place of prayer, protest and pride.”
It becomes very evident that the March on Washington and, indeed, the whole civil rights movement was a Christian project–led by clergymen, organized by congregations, carried out by black churches, which also pulled in a large number of white Christians into the cause.
Do people who object to Christianity insinuating itself into the public square object to the civil rights movement?
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