‘Dear Martin’: Bishop’s Letters to MLK Trace the Highs and Lows in Race Relations

by | Jan 17, 2014 | Feature, Headline News, MLK |

c. 2014 Religion News Service

(RNS) The nation will mark the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday (Jan. 20) with speeches, prayers and volunteer service.

But for decades, retired United Methodist Bishop Woodie W. White has marked the holiday in a more personal way: He writes a “birthday letter” to the civil rights leader who was killed in 1968.

“It was a way to get kind of a year’s assessment on what the nation was accomplishing and not accomplishing in the area of race,” said White, a bishop-in-residence at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology for the last decade.

“I did it because, frankly, I needed to have perspective. I needed to not get discouraged, and I needed it to be affirming of progress in race which had taken place over the course of a year.”

White started the custom in 1976, when he chose to write a letter to King instead of giving a traditional speech to the Human Rights Commission in Howard County, Md. He continued writing on and off while he served as the first head of the United Methodist Church’s General Commission on Religion and Race. Since 1985, he’s written the letters annually, and they’re now published by United Methodist News Service.

White’s letter updates King on the latest strides in race relations while also acknowledging “a hard residue of racism that just won’t seem to die.” He admitted in his most recent letter to being discouraged by mass incarceration and the “lack of outrage” about legislation that has disenfranchised black voters.

“While we are yet flawed by those among us who hold to racial bigotry and intolerance, they no longer define us as a nation or a people!” White wrote in his 2014 edition.

White, 78, and King were not close friends, but they met in the 1960s when White was a Detroit minister and King made annual visits to the city to preach a sermon during Lent.

In 1963, White was among the more than 100,000 who took part in the Detroit “Walk to Freedom” march, where King gave a trial run of his now-famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Two months later, White was in a larger crowd at the March on Washington.

“He began to speak and I said, ‘This sounds familiar,’’’ the bishop recalled. “It was a different context. It was almost like hearing it anew, or for the first time.”

Now, White communicates with King by letter, even though his missives will never be answered.

“The one thing every letter tries to say is that we are light-years ahead in the area of race than we were when Dr. King was alive,” said White. “If he could make an overall assessment, he would not believe how far we’ve come as a nation.”

White’s writing reflects lingering tensions in race relations, rejoicing at the scope of interracial relations and decrying the fatal shooting of unarmed Florida teen Trayvon Martin.

“We have more and more people of different races relating to each other, working in offices together, neighbors,” White said. “At the same time, we have schools that are more segregated, for instance, than they were in 1954.”

The letters also have personal touches, with references to his friend and civil rights activist Joseph Lowery and the deaths of Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela. He marveled at the two elections of President Obama, but criticized how the appointments of former Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell were “not so appropriately recognized.”

Bettie W. Story edited White’s columns when he served as a bishop in Illinois. His “Dear Martin” letters were published in a church newspaper and gained a national audience after she recommended them to The United Methodist Reporter.

Illinois Methodists, both black and white, appreciated the annual dispatches, which encouraged them to pay tribute to King, she said.

“The bishop made it easier for them to do something within their own local churches,” recalled Story, 80. “They would reprint the letter in their church newsletters.”

White speaks from personal experience when he tells King how far race relations have come. As a Detroit pastor, he visited a white Methodist church in Jackson, Miss., in the 1960s and was arrested and fined $1,000 for “disturbing divine worship” and $1,000 for trespassing. Decades later, as a bishop, he was invited to speak and join in a potluck luncheon at that same church, which is now one of the most integrated in the city.

White often closes his letter with a variation on the words of the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome’’ as a final tribute to King in what has become an annual thank-you note to a man who many never got to thank before his 1968 assassination.

“It’s important for current generations to be aware that we have not overcome racism, we’ve not overcome prejudice,” White said. “It’s like sin: We’re always a sinner no matter how good you think you are, that we’re always striving to be better.”

Excerpts from Bishop White’s “Dear Martin” letters, published by United Methodist News Service:

2012

“Perhaps that is the difficulty of navigating race in America as an identified racial minority — that is, the unpredictability of encountering racism in day-to-day living. One must always be prepared. It can manifest itself in so many different places and in so many different forms. In a classroom or office, at a department store counter, in a committee meeting or in a casual conversation, even at the Table of the Lord. One simply never knows.”

2008

“Because my life has been lived in the world of religion and the church, I know this fundamental shift has taken place in the church as well. No longer do clergy justify racist practice or belief based on religion or theology. No sermons are preached today in their name. For the most part, the position of the church is not couched in racism. That would be considered un-Christian.”

2007

“As we celebrate your birth date in 2007, if I were to be asked if race relations in America are better or still a problem, I would have to respond, ‘Yes!’”

Copyright 2014 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be reproduced without written permission.

Breaking Down Beyoncé’s Iconic Brand

by | Jan 16, 2014 | Entertainment, Feature, Headline News | 1 comment

No doubt about it. In the R&B and Pop music world, 2013 was the year of Beyoncé. From singing/lip-synching the national anthem at the 2013 inauguration of President Obama and delivering a Super Bowl performance so fierce that all the lights went out in the stadium, to releasing her HBO documentary “Life Is But a Dream,” to a record-breaking viewership, dazzling fans worldwide with her “Mrs. Carter Show World Tour” and dropping her visual album “Beyoncé” online in the middle of the night to the delight of her fans in December, Beyonce did that. In fact, her influence has grown so much that the superstar is sparking conversations/controversies in other worlds.

Most recently, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, a conservative Christian advocacy group, took notice of Beyoncé. The AFA chastised her for posting an Instagram photo in which she positions herself in front of Jesus in Andy Warhol’s “Last Supper” mural–pictured above. In a statement to The Christian Post, Wildmon said, “Is nothing sacred anymore? This is clearly an act of disrespect towards Jesus Christ, whom Beyoncé covers up with her pose. This had to be done intentionally.”

Instagram users had various reactions. According to a Washington Times article, one user said, “Looks like the Last Supper, instead of Jesus its Beyoncé. Ummm epic fail boo. Jesus Christ is my savior, not you. Besides that, I love Beyoncé, but you will never be God.” Still other users said, “Praise Beyoncé” and donned her “Beysus.”

This controversy is on the heels of an apology Mrs. Carter issued to the families of the seven astronauts who perished in the space shuttle Challenger explosion on Jan. 28, 1986. In a song entitled “XO” a single off her new album, Beyonce used audio heard just before the explosion. At the beginning of the song, the words, “Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation. Obviously a major malfunction,” spoken by then NASA public affairs officer Steve Nesbitt. Shuttle commander Dick Scobee’s widow June Scobee Rodgers was reportedly “disappointed” with the audio’s use in the song. NASA is also displeased. Billboard reported NASA’s statement to The Hollywood Reporter, “The Challenger accident is an important part of our history, a tragic reminder that space exploration is risky and should never be trivialized.”

In a statement reported by ABC News, Beyoncé said, “My heart goes out to the families of those lost in the Challenger disaster. The song ‘XO’ was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones and to remind us that unexpected things happen, so love and appreciate every minute that you have with those who mean the most to you.” She was right to apologize to the families lost in the shuttle explosion, as the audio seems melodramatic juxtaposed to the whimsy expressed in the song and the video—the song being about the euphoric feeling of love and the video showing Beyonce and a large entourage traipsing around Brooklyn’s historic amusement park Coney Island. While her heart went out and apologies were issued to those affected by the Challenger disaster, Beyonce issued no apologies to those affected by her actions in Christian community–a community that she claims to be a part of. She referenced Jesus in her HBO documentary “Life Is But a Dream” and thanks Jesus for her blessings, but then she covers Him in a photo and posts it for all her followers to see with no remorse? I’m not judging, but I’m just sayin’.

Feminists have also been in an uproar about Beyoncé’s latest album. Some say she’s the face of modern feminism or the premier feminist for millennials. In her TIME magazine article “Flawless: 5 Lessons in Modern Feminism From Beyoncé,” Eliana Docketerman wrote, “Beyoncé has managed to become the biggest female pop star in the world while cultivating her marriage, her role as a mother, and her sexuality. And in doing so, she’s ushering in a new wave of feminism.”

But Beyoncé’s brand of feminism also has its detractors. Julia Sonenshein, contributing editor at theGloss.com who wrote the article Why White Feminists Are Mad At Beyoncé, told theGrio.com that, “White feminists tend to critique Beyoncé first and foremost for the way she uses her sexuality as a tool. White feminists also tend to criticize her attitude towards wealth and materialism, along with her bravado and confidence. While there is certainly room for criticism, and major figures like Beyoncé should be criticized, these particular conversations tend to approach any analysis from a very white point of view, and don’t consider how the themes of sexuality, wealth, and confidence differ across communities.” Although, getting nearly naked at every opportunity is so Josephine Baker...

And top it all off, Mrs. Carter, who is also known as King B, seems to be a good friend of Mrs. Obama, who has provoked the ire of feminists all by herself. In the Politico Magazine article, “Leaning Out: How Michelle Obama Became a Feminist Nightmare,” Michelle Cottle criticized our First Lady for neglecting to address more pressing issues in order to champion gardening, soothe wounded soldiers and read to children.

With Michelle’s Obama 50th party around the corner, Washington Post writer Krissah Thompson speculates that Beyoncé will be in the house. In her article, “Michelle Obama and Beyoncé: Friends and feminists?” Thompson said, “The public statements and choices made by Michelle Obama and Beyoncé represent a specific feminist strain of thinking on women, work and family, students of feminism say, that could rightly be called Beyoncéism.” Some may criticize the First Lady’s admiration of Beyoncé, and I get that. But in a strange way, I think it’s kind of cool that a First Lady would be friends with a (sometimes) controversial superstar. I can’t see former First Lady Laura Bush getting down with Lady Gaga.

As a pop culture enthusiast, there is no doubt that Beyoncé should be lauded for her unstoppable work ethic. I think she offers good if not controversial music.. I even admire her unique brand of feminism. Her life provides a positive image of a successful career, a marriage and motherhood to counteract the increasing acceptance of the baby mama/baby daddy culture. Her example may even have some value for women in the black church who still struggle for equality in leadership.

But as the Instagram user noted, Beyoncé nor King B is my savior and should not be made an idol, and sometimes I believe her fan base falls prey to that temptation. (I’m readying myself for the Beyhive as I type.) Her Instagram photo makes me question her motives, but maybe her motives are as simple as keeping her name in the media. As someone once said, “all publicity is good publicity.” However, I hope Beyoncé, if she truly professes a belief in Jesus Christ, does not make such publicity, which is ill-advised at best and sacrilegious at worst, a habit.