Monuments to Prophets

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets." (Matthew 23:29-31)

I was invited to give the key-note address at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Breakfast in Alexandria, Louisiana's Convention Center. In that speech, I reflected on how strange it is that America honors Dr. King today.

When I was growing up, he was a hated man: He was either despised by everyone I knew or they kept their opinions to the themselves. That was true in the public schools, my family and extended family, and our religious institutions. Even one national television news anchor sneered when he received the Nobel Prize for Peace.

However, when I became a Christian, I began to look critically at the "Christian" values of those around me, especially as those values touched on race. Out of that change, I decided to attend Dr. King's funeral in Atlanta back in 1968.