Persistent recurrences of racial incidents and thepublic debate over welfare reform and affirmativeaction continue to engage the American con-

sciousness with the question of race. The 1992 riots in thewake of the verdict in the Rodney King beating trial werethe first signs of fracturing. Varying reactions to the O.J.Simpson trial verdicts revealed the differences in perspectivethat black and white Americans generally possess. Bothcases stirred anger and resentment across racial lines.

Then the 1995 Million Man March led by Louis Farrakhancalled on black men to appreciate, demonstrate and appro-priately use their power. This march was a stark contrast tothe 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King’s“I Have a Dream” speech was delivered. Bigger, blacker, andmore masculine, the Million Man March abandoned Dr. King’scall for the moral conscience of the nation to awaken.Instead a new, self-authenticating black power dismissed theneed to identify any real common ground with the largersociety. To the organizers of the march, the pursuit of selfdefinition rendered the feelings and thinking of whites,Jews and other minorities incidental.

How did Martin Luther King’s vision of a cooperative, unify-ing society turn into this very different image? Some wouldcall it a reconciling of King’s dream with reality, a morepractically grounded approach to positive change in theblack community. Others found it disturbing, the positiveand hopeful messages of the day tainted by the leadership ofa controversial leader of an Islamic sect.

Tensions continue, and weekly we hear of yet another inci-dent somewhere in our country where race is presented as aprecipitating factor.

Let’s Givethe DreamNew Life

EveryStudent.com feature article

by Charles Gilmer

What has become ofMartin Luther King’sDream?

I n the wake of the civil rights move-ment in which Dr. King was so dra-matically used, there came a flood ofsocial programs that sought to addressthe causes and consequences of racism.

Cultural education, cross cultural dialogue, andthe current multi-culturalism all hearken backto the civil rights movement for their mandates.

In the pursuit of the rights of various groups,under the civil rights umbrella, one thing hasbecome clear. That which was called right by onegroup is often called wrong by another. Ratherthan resolving the differences, tolerance ischampioned as the appropriate response to thevarying perspectives that have emerged. Yettolerance has no cohesive nor healing power insociety. It means little more than leaving oneanother alone. It leads to indifference, notunderstanding. Tolerance allows the gulfs be-tween us to remain in place. In fact, there islittle in the concept of tolerance to pull us awayfrom racial isolation.

Tolerance brings with it animplicit moral relativism. Whois to say what is right andwhat is wrong? Moral relativ-ism suggests that there are noabsolutes to which we can allbe held accountable. Such athing was far from the think-ing of Martin Luther King. Inone of his works Dr. Kingmakes the following state-ments:

“At the center of the Christian faith is the affir-mation that there is a God in the universe who isthe ground and essence of all reality. A Being ofinfinite love and boundless power, God is thecreator, sustainer, and conserver of values....Incontrast to the ethical relativism of [totalitarian-ism], Christianity sets forth a system of absolutemoral values and affirms that God has placedwithin the very structure of this universe certainmoral principles that are fixed and immutable.”

Dr. King did not speak in terms of tolerance. Hisideal was love.

“Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can dothat.” (Strength to Love, p. 51)

Yet, in current discussions of race relations theword love is seldom mentioned. Dr. King insistedlove was the dominant or critical value by whichwe could overcome racial strife. The love hespoke of was a biblical love, one that is uncon-ditional, unselfish and seeks the absolute goodof another party. That kind of love is a toughlove, one that confronts wrong and injusticewith the truth—absolute truth as decreed by anall powerful God and enables the individual tolove their enemy.

As we consider giving new lifeto “The Dream,” we have toacknowledge that, in Dr.King’s speaking and writing,“The Dream” does begin withGod. For without God, there isno absolute transcendenttruth on which to base a callto justice. Nor is there anysource from which to draw thestrength to love about whichhe spoke.

There is little in the concept of toleranceto pull us away from racial isolation.

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A certain degree of skepticismabout this perspective isunderstandable. Too often,those who claim to be Chris-tians have failed to live inkeeping with the clear teach-ings of the Christian Scrip-tures. These failures havefrequently been in matters ofrace. It is clear from the Bible(and Dr. King affirmed) thatthe church ought to providespiritual and moral leadershipin society. However, as weobserve the history of the American church,many parts of it have been passive, or evenregressive, in matters of race. Even in the currentera, the church speaks to the issues of the daywith a fragmented voice. A case in point is thetendency for African-American clergy to alignwith Democratic candidates, while many whitepastors align with Republicans. Yet, Dr. Kingimplored people not to dismiss Christianity onthe basis of these observations.

Dr. King lived in an era when the leadership ofthe church in addressing racism was even lesscredible than it is today. Dr. King clearly under-stood that to often there was a difference be-tween what Christianity taught in the Bible andthe varieties of Christianity observed aroundhim. His life was devoted to challenging thisnation to live out a more consistent obedience tothe moral absolutes of the Bible. His repeatedplea was for men and women to enter into thekind of personal relationship with God thattranscended that which could be seen and thatwhich was being experienced.

Hear Dr. King as he speaks to the man or womanwho contends that God is unnecessary or irrel-evant to our modern lives:

“At times we may feel that wedo not need God, but on theday when the storms ofdisappointment rage, the windsof disaster blow, and the tidalwaves of grief beat against ourlives, if we do not have a deepand patient faith, our emo-tional lives will be ripped toshreds. There is so muchfrustration in the world be-cause we have relied on godsrather than God. We have

genuflected before the god of science only to findthat it has given us the atomic bomb, producingfears and anxieties that science can never miti-gate. We have worshiped the god of pleasure onlyto discover that thrills play out and sensationsare short-lived. We have bowed before the god ofmoney only to learn that there are such things aslove and friendship that money cannot buy andthat in a world of possible depressions, stockmarket crashes, and bad business investments,money is a rather uncertain deity. These transi-tory gods are not able to save us or bring happi-ness to the human heart. Only God is able. It isfaith in him that we must rediscover. With thisfaith we can transform bleak and desolate valleysinto sunlit paths of joy and bring new light intothe dark caverns of pessimism.” (Strength toLove, p. 51)

Are you discouraged about the prospect of usnever overcoming the racial divisiveness thatpermeates this nation? Or are you frustrated byyour inability to genuinely love others who aredifferent from you? Martin Luther King recom-mended faith in Jesus of Nazareth as antidotesfor both maladies.

“There is so much frustration in the world becausewe have relied on gods rather than God.” -MLK

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“Evil can be cast out, not by man alone nor by adictatorial God who invades our lives, but whenwe open the door and invite God through Christto enter. ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock;if any man hear my voice, and open the door, Iwill come in to him, and will sup with him, andhe with me.’ God is too courteous to break openthe door, but when we open it in faith believing,a divine and human confrontation will transformour sin-ruined lives into radiant personalities.”(Strength to Love, p. 126)

A relationship with God gives us the power to overcome whatever sin we may be struggling with, including the sin of racism. Rac- ism stands not only as a barrier

between people, but as an offense between usand God. The reason Dr. King could recommendChrist as a solution to the problem of racism isJesus’ death on the cross paid the price for all ofour sins. He then rose from the dead and nowoffers us the forgiveness of God and the powerto live new lives. Dr. King put it this way:

“Man is a sinner in need of God’s forgiving grace.This is not deadening pessimism; it is Christianrealism.” (Strength to Love, p. 51)

What Martin Luther King described as our needfor a “divine and human confrontation” isoffered at God’s initiative. It requires that weplace our faith in what Jesus did as our ownpersonal payment for sin, and inviting Him toenter our lives “when we open the door andinvite God through Christ to enter.”

Dr. King’s words still ring true today. We cangive new life to “The Dream,” following the pathof Dr. King. Our path may not lead to martyrdomby an assassin’s bullet as it did for Martin LutherKing, but it does lead to dying to our selfish

ways and self-sufficiency. Such a faith is not aweak-kneed, escapist religious exercise, but acourageous pursuit of that which is ultimatelygood, right and true.

“In his magnanimous love, God freely offers to dofor us what we cannot do for ourselves. Ourhumble and openhearted acceptance is faith. Soby faith we are saved. Man filled with God andGod operating through man bring unbelievablechanges in our individual and social lives.”(Strength to Love, p. 51)

“The Dream” starts with God as revealed throughHis Son, Jesus Christ. Through a relationshipwith Him, we can be agents of healing in a worldthat is sick with racial and ethnic conflict. Won’tyou seriously consider placing your faith inChrist, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did? Godoffers us this relationship with Him, and wesimply respond:

Jesus Christ, I invite you to come into my life, toforgive me of my sin, to give me a new relation-ship with you. Bring into my heart your love andyour power to love others. Thank you for trans-forming my life right now.

Charles Gilmer is a national directorfor Campus Crusade for Christ. He hasspoken on campuses across thecountry on race relations and theChristian faith. He is a graduate ofthe University of Pennsylvania.Charles and his wife, Rebecca, andtheir six children live in Orlando, Fla.

© 1998 Campus Crusade for ChristPhotos used with permission. License grantedby Intellectual Properties Management, Atlanta,Georgia, as manager of the King Estate.

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“Man is a sinner in need of God’s forgiving grace. This isnot deadening pessimism: it is Christian realism.” -MLK