Celebrating Black History Month
In celebration and recognition of the many incredible efforts and achievements our black forefathers and mothers made, I want to honor and showcase some throughout February.
“Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour,” (Romans 13:7).
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: He Was the Youngest Person to Win the Nobel Peace Prize at the Time
In 1964, at just 35 years old, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. became the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent resistance against racial injustice.
Instead of keeping the prize money ($54,123), he donated it to the civil rights movement.
He Entered College at Age 15
A brilliant student, King skipped both 9th and 12th grade and entered Morehouse College at age 15 in 1944.
He graduated with a degree in Sociology in 1948.
His Famous “I Have a Dream” Speech Was Not His Original Plan “For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;” (Job 33:14-15).
On August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington, King gave his legendary “I Have a Dream” speech.
He initially planned a different speech, but when gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted, “Tell them about the dream!”, he improvised, delivering the speech that became one of the greatest in history.
The Underground Railroad Was Powered by Black Christian Faith “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith,” (1 John 5:4).
Many enslaved Africans sought refuge in church-run safe houses along the Underground Railroad.
Harriet Tubman, a deeply Christian woman of faith, relied on prayer and divine guidance to lead enslaved people to freedom.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Was Passed with Support from Black Clergy “Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy,” (Psalm 82:3).
Black pastors and Christian leaders lobbied for the Civil Rights Act, which outlawed racial segregation.
Many pastors, like Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and Rev. James Lawson, were arrested and beaten for their activism.
