25 April 2008

Race and power in the world: Introduction & MLK

If the study of special revelation can tell us how things ought to be, then the study of general revelation can show us how things work in a fallen reality. To this end, in addition to a biblical theology, I surveyed current academic literature pertaining to various facets of this complex subject.

In this survey, I studied sources discussing theoretical definitions of power and racism; the American Civil Rights Movement of the mid-twentieth century and its present-day manifestations; the modern history of both evangelical-fundamentalist and liberationist theology and politics in the public arena; and current trends in both secularist and evangelical thought about power and race in America. The relevant disciplines span the social sciences from political science to anthropology to theology. All are important if we aim for a view that is both broad and holistic, attributes not often found or even valued in many discussions about such a sensitive topic.

The first source I'm posting is sort of a seminal primary source from the heart of the Civil Rights era in twentieth-century America, written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. These days, that man's name and legacy is thrown around every which way by all kinds of people to defend and attack all sorts of things. Despite the powerful clarity of expression in both spoken and written language that he left us, it's difficult for me to know where exactly Dr. King stood on theological issues without doing a ton of hard research on his doctrine, which I didn't have time for. Nevertheless, I believe I can safely and proudly get behind his "Letter from the Birmingham Jail," written in April 1963, just a few months after my dad was born.

What's valuable about this open response to concerned white Alabama clergymen is the firsthand perspective it provides - not only one African-American man caught in a tumultuous time in American race relations, but of the leader of what King characterizes as the black moderate position.

King condemns both those members of his community who do nothing to change the status quo and those who wish to use violent means to gain power from their so-called “white devil.” Along with moderate methods of non-violent yet direct-action resistance, King seems to espouse a moderate philosophy as well. His aim is not to gain “power over,” but “power to,” as he emphasizes again and again. One of the main thrusts of his letter, in addition, is a desire for unity in tension with a profound disappointment with “the white moderate,” particularly the religious and Christian community, for consistently playing it safe and demanding patience rather than change.

What are perhaps his most famous penned words sum up his message well:
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live within the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider.


Read the whole thing in a PDF.

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