As I write this, it is the eve of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I take deep inspiration from Dr. King’s life and his commitments to an anti-racist society and to the cause of human dignity. I gain profound spiritual insight when I read and listen to the ways that he articulated and embodied the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the 20th century.

Back in January of this year, Marble Church threw a huge celebration to honor his life. It was an audio-visual gospel music and spoken word event. Over 1000 people came to hear the music and learn about the man of God. As the first and only African American clergywoman at this historic church, I am constantly aware that I would not be in this place without the work of Dr. King, Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer and so many other Christian Civil Rights leaders.

Therefore, I am surprised to find myself experiencing a noticeable amount of grief for Dr. King today. I grieve the violence of his death. I am grieving for the ministry that he never had a chance to live. I am grieving, especially in this time of war, for his voice that advocated for peace. I am grieving the ineptness with which we Christian leaders enact our solidarity with people who are poor and suffering.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was born into, nurtured by and came to be a leader in the African American Christian Church--which is something that I have in common with him. I spent all of formative years in St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Raleigh, NC. Like King, my family and that African American church were the places where I learned my “somebody-ness” over against the “nobody-ness” that racist society was determined to teach us. The prophetic speech that I was raised on and that I read in Dr. King’s sermons was grounded in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Gospel and what Fred Moten calls “the Black radical tradition.”

Though, we live in a changed 21st century world, African American churches have a huge role in shaping young people, supporting families and cultivating cultural practices. The African American church serves countless purposes in broader American society, not the least of which is a sanctuary for prophetic speech. Most importantly, it reminds me, Dr. King, and others that we are “who God says that we are!”

May Martin Luther King, Jr. rest in peace and may his voice rise in each one of us who seek to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ!