Faith and politics: For FBI legend J Edgar Hoover, Christian nationalism was the gospel truth, argues new book
BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, talks to Stanford professor Lerone Martin who, in his new book ‘The Gospel of J Edgar Hoover’, details how the longtime FBI director shaped the belief in America as a Christian nation…
In the US, 35 Black churches to receive total of $US4 million for preservation work
United StatesRNS Nearly three dozen historic Black religious sites in the US will receive a $US4 million infusion of funding to help them with renovations and preservation of their buildings across the country. The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund announced on Monday that 35 churches are the recipients of […]
On King’s holiday in the US, daughter calls for bold action over words
Atlanta, US AP America has honoured Martin Luther King, Jr, with a federal holiday for nearly four decades yet still hasn’t fully embraced and acted on the lessons from the slain civil rights leader, his youngest daughter said Monday. Rev Bernice King, who leads The King Center in Atlanta, said leaders – especially politicians – […]
The Interview: Martin Luther King Jr scholar Lewis V Baldwin
ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, speaks with Lewis V Baldwin, emeritus professor of religious studies at Vanderbilt University, about his recent book, ‘The Arc of Truth: The Thinking of Martin Luther King Jr’…
Americans should “pay attention” to MLK’s legacy says Biden
Atlanta, US AP President Joe Biden made a historical pilgrimage Sunday to “America’s freedom church” to mark Martin Luther King, Jr’s, birthday, saying democracy was at a perilous moment and that the civil rights leader’s life and legacy “show us the way and we should pay attention.” As the first sitting president to deliver a Sunday […]
Arson investigation after fire destroys historic LA church
Los Angeles, USAP The blaze at Victory Baptist Church broke out shortly before 2:30am and quickly grew to major emergency status, said Nicholas Prange, a spokesperson with the Los Angeles Fire Department. Two firefighters were hospitalised with mild to moderate injuries after battling the flames, Prange said. One became trapped by a collapsing ceiling before […]
In the US, Progressive National Baptists, AFL-CIO reunite for mid-terms voter initiative
United StatesRNS A predominantly Black denomination and prominent union in the US have joined forces in a new voter mobilisation initiative ahead of the mid-term elections. Reviving a partnership they had in the 1960s, the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the AFL-CIO are launching a faith and labour alliance focused on battleground states, where they […]
Essay: America is exceptional – in its addiction to violence and war
US activist, author and co-director of Red Letter Christians SHANE CLAIBORNE says – in an article first published on Religion News Service – that while it’s been 55 years since Martin Luther King’s historic speech, ‘Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,’ it still rings out as true as ever…
On MLK Day, Biden says Americans must commit to King’s work
Atlanta, Georgia, USAP Americans must commit to the unfinished work of Martin Luther King, Jr, delivering jobs and justice and protecting “the sacred right to vote, a right from which all other rights flow,” President Joe Biden said Monday. Martin Luther King Day is a moment when a mirror is held up to America, the […]
Essay: How the Vietnam War pushed MLK to embrace global justice, not only civil rights at home
Ahead on Martin Luther King Jr Day held in the US on 17th January, ANTHONY SIRACUSA, senior director of inclusive culture and initiatives at the University of Colorado Boulder, looks – in an article from The Conversation, at took his campaign for civil rights beyond US borders…