January 16, 2017
Martin Luther King Jr., Chicago Freedom Movement

On this date in 1961, Martin Luther King, Jr. opens his campaign in Chicago.

“On January 17, 1966, Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) announced plans for the Chicago Freedom Movement, a campaign that marked the expansion of their civil rights activities from the South to northern cities. King believed that ‘‘the moral force of SCLC’s nonviolent movement philosophy was needed to help eradicate a vicious system which seeks to further colonize thousands of Negroes within a slum environment’’ (King, 18 March 1966). King and his family moved to one such Chicago slum at the end of January so that he could be closer to the movement.” (kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu)

January 16, 2017 is the day our country sets aside to remember American Baptist pastor and Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. day is always honored on the third Monday in January. King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, serving as its first president. With the SCLC, King led an unsuccessful 1962 struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgia (also called the Albany Movement), and helped organize the 1963 nonviolent protests in Birmingham, Alabama. King also helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. There, he established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.

As we begin 2017, let me ask you this profound question: “What is your dream for 2017?” What are your hopes for America – for your community – for your church?” How about this question: “What is your dream for the Christian church?” If we stop dreaming, we stop hoping and we stop believing that the Holy Spirit is active and able to lead us into change. Keep praying, my friends, because we need prayer now more than ever.

Pastor Dave