I have confessed before that the Civil Rights Movement went on outside my personal, suburban experience. I knew something was going on by the news I watched occasionally at night after we ate, but I never encountered the movement firsthand. Like many white Americans, I was sympathetic to the situation of Afro-Americans in my country but let the work and death of others right the wrong.
"The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others. In dangerous valleys and hazardous pathways, he will life some bruised and beaten brother to a higher and more noble life."
That statement is a call to authentic Christianity. Jesus, the foundation for Dr. King's non-violent message and actions (He was a Baptist preacher.), spoke of the same kind of actions in his story of the Good Samaritan.
"Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think."
We don't think anymore. We give opinions based on emotion. That kind of rhetoric keeps many apart still today.
Dr. King began a revolution of justice that has not ended. Much remains to be done to bring dignity and respect to all people. My prayer is that God's people, like those first marchers, will stand up again and be the voice and strength for those who have neither.