Dreams of the Beloved Community: 50th Anniversary of ‘I have a Dream’ speech by Martin Luther King
Racial Justice Sunday enables Christian communities across Britain and Ireland with the opportunity to focus on the issue of ending racism and racial inequality.
On Racial Justice Sunday 2013, churches, schools, groups and individuals are invited to mark the day by mobilising together in prayer, work and action to raise awareness of the 50th Anniversary of the ‘I have a Dream’ speech by Dr Martin Luther King and to ask 50 years on, where are we now?
The 28 August 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King Junior’s monumental ‘I have a Dream’ speech. The speech spoke about all God’s people living in freedom and peace in a world governed by truth and justice. It called for liberty, equality and justice for all people, regardless of their racial heritage. Dr King’s dream centred on a ‘Beloved Community’, a society built on justice, equality and freedom for all God’s people which was rooted in scripture, particularly in Revelation 7:9-10. The speech remains an inspirational call for us to work for a fairer and more equitable world now.
The face of racism looks different today from how it looked in the past. Overt racism is easily condemned, but the sin of racism is often with us in more subtle forms. As Christians we are called to act to build justice and peace around racial equality and identity issues. We are called to welcome the stranger and to be hospitable to those who are different. As the problem of racism and racial inequality continue, there is an ongoing moral need for us to work for anti-racism and racial equality now.
This Racial Justice Sunday resource pack has been produced by CARJ and CTBI. It is intended to serve as a resource for you and can be used as an advocacy resource at any time during the year. We hope that you will find the materials helpful.
For more information, please contact CARJ, 9 Henry Road, London, N4 2LH,
Tel: 020 8802 8080, Email: info@carj.org.uk, Website: www.carj.org.uk