by James Melson | Apr 25, 2017 | 2017, Weekly Reflection
The annual History of Racial Injustice Calendar by The Equal Justice Initiative directed by Bryan Stevenson is an informative and powerful resource. Each day recalls an event in our nation’s long legacy of racial injustice. Although this calendar reveals deep...
by James Melson | Apr 14, 2017 | 2017, Weekly Reflection
For pastors there is no more important Sunday to be in church than Easter. This is nearly always the highest attended service of the year with well planned and inspiriing music and sermon. Yet Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made an intentional decision not to be in his...
by James Melson | Apr 4, 2017 | 2017, Weekly Reflection
April 4 is a very significant date in the witness of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was 49 years ago that he was assassinated while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN. Yet a year to the day before his murder, Dr. King proclaimed some of his...
by James Melson | Mar 31, 2017 | 2017, Weekly Reflection
As we conclude Women’s History Month, I want to lift up the contributions of women in the modern Civil Rights Movement. The story of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 60’s tends to focus on the men who were visible leaders, the most famous...
by James Melson | Mar 7, 2017 | 2017, Weekly Reflection
This week we remember two infamous anniversaries, one in the 19th century and the other in the 20th century, that remind us of our nation’s struggle for racial justice. March 6 is the 160th anniversary of the 1857 Dred Scott Supreme Court decision in which...
by James Melson | Feb 23, 2017 | 2017, Weekly Reflection
A new documentary was released during this Black History Month. It is called “I Am Not Your Negro.” It features the writing of the prophetic author James Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987). The documentary connects his words with our ongoing...
