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Sermons, Religion, and the Civil Rights Movement
Fall 2015
Religion has played a role in the lives of American-Americans for centuries. Sermons, Religion, and the Civil Rights Movement looks at how Sermons and Religion was used during the Civil Rights Movement. It discusses specifically how the sermon was used as rhetoric to inspire people and a nation to move to change. A number of Civil Rights leaders are discussed; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, and Rev. James Lawson to name a few. While most of the document discusses Dr. King, some of the lesser known ministers who helped the movement through their sermons and speeches are honored.
Excerpt
It was not until I was an adult that I realized that religion had a profound effect on my freedoms as an African-American and as an American. I was aware of the Civil Rights Movement. I knew of some of the leaders. I knew of some of the fights that they had. I have even visited Mason Temple, the church where Dr. King gave his “I’ve Been to the Mountain Top Speech.” I have visited the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. It was not until I was an adult that I fully understood the importance of the church and various religious organizations in the Civil Rights Movement. If it had not been for the church and various religious organizations, the Civil Rights Movement would not have been as successful as it was. Wilfred McClay writes in his article, The Church of Civil Rights, “Chappell argues that one cannot apprehend the Movement’s success without taking into account the pervasive cultural setting of Southern Protestantism within which it unfolded,” (McClay, 44). He further writes, “…it was primarily a high-octane religious revival, full of prophetic utterances and messianic expectations, which had the effect, almost as a byproduct, of leading to profound political and social change,” (44).
During the Great Migration (1910-1930) of African-Americans from the South to the North and West, the religious life of African-Americans changed. It went from small town churches to large urban churches. The cities of Detroit, Chicago, and New York became the places to be for African-Americans. “Churches in those cities assumed central positions of community leadership and nurtured black talent that would explode onto the American social, cultural, and political scene in the mid-twentieth century,” (Harvey, 87). The Black churches of the South and North did have something in common. They were involved in community work. As they did this, they employed the ideas of social Gospel movement. This emphasized following Jesus’ life in service by caring for people. During this time, Black churches served as welcoming centers, relief agencies, and employment centers for migrants from the South. They also helped people in distress. They were a beckon of hope to the lost. They provided meeting places for groups like the NAACP and the Urban League. The Black ministers of this time were “political power brokers” (95) who helped candidates get votes. They also had relationships with prominent industry leaders, helping to find suitable employment for new migrants from the South. The Black church already had a history of being involved in the community before the Civil Rights Movement; therefore it was poised to be on the forefront of the Movement.