Martin Luther King Jr. was many things to many people, and during a program honoring his legacy, Chicago’s Charlie Dates said one of King’s titles helps to frame all of King’s positive roles: reverend.
Dates was the keynote speaker Monday at the National King Day program at the Cathedral of Joy Family Life Center Church, 20401 Western Ave., in Olympia Fields.
The Civil Rights movement was “distinctly a Christian movement,” said Dates, who is the senior pastor at Progressive Baptist Church, 3658 Wentworth Ave., Chicago. “What drove his action was more moral conviction.”
During a two hour program that included music, scripture and discussions by other clergy, Dates’ speech reflected on King’s “Letter from the Birmingham Jail,” written in 1963, where King wrote “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
“It really read like it could have been written last year,” Dates said. “(King’s message) is just as needed today as it was in the 1960s.
“It seems like we’re being killed by the bullet. We may be being killed by the ballot, too,” Dates said.
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In fighting for the rights of black Americans, King also was fighting for the rights of all people, said Samuel Hinkle III, senior pastor of Cathedral of Joy Church.
Hinkle said that fight continues today, pointing to an effort to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care legislation without a plan in place to replace it.
Hinkle and Dates called for an effort to recruit all people to strive for racial justice on the national level, as well as increased efforts to improve lives at the local level.
In Olympia Fields, Hinkle said the challenges facing his congregation are “making sure that our young people have a foundation on which they can build their lives on,” which includes avoiding materialism and pursuing excellence. He emphasized education as well.
“Our school systems have to be maintained with excellence,” he said.
Hinkle said the annual program honoring King, who Hinkle called “a drum major for justice,” is an important reminder to for those who would continue King’s work.
“We meet every year to carry on his legacy, not so much in memorizing the dream, but activating the dream,” Hinkle said.
At the end of the program, people were asked to join various service organizations, including PADS shelters and Habitat for Humanity. The Olympia Fields Ducks Youth Football and Cheer Organization, and Matteson Bears football team were honored at the event for “doing a wonderful job keeping kids off the streets and mentoring them,” according to a church statement.
Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.