Why Isn’t the Civil Rights Movement Considered a Revival Movement?

Many do not know that “sections of the Bible, such as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), encouraged African Americans and their allies to stand up to white supremacist mobs, brutal law enforcement agents, dogs, and hoses. Rather than being a sign of passivity and weakness, ‘turning the other cheek’ (Matthew 5:39) became an indictment upon such bullies as Bull Connor of Birmingham, Alabama, and the law enforcement agents in Selma, Alabama, who bloodied demonstrators marching across the Edmund Pettis Bridge on March 7th, 1965.”⁷

Evangelical civil rights leader John Perkins says “he believed the gospel of Jesus Christ, civil rights, and economic development for the poor and oppressed were not enemies but allies.”⁸ The Civil Rights Movement forced America, through non-violent protest and martyrdom, to come closer to her founding documents: ”We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among theses are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” What could be more revivalist than, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45)?

May those justified by the blood of Christ embody the reconciling justice of Christ. Revival transforms people into the image of Christ who came to preach good news to the poor, was sent proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:16-18).

For further reading on this topic, see Dr. Derwin L. Gray’s book, “How to Heal Our Racial Divide: What the Bible Says, and the First Christians Knew, about Racial Reconciliation.”

References

1. Richard F. Lovelace, “Dynamics of Spiritual Life,” (Downers Grove: Inter-Varisty Press, 40), 1979.
2. Frederick Douglass, “Life of an American Slave,” (Boston: Anti-Slavery Office, 1845) http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/abaufda14t.html, cited Feb. 23, 2023.
3. Frederick Douglass, “Life of an American Slave” (Boston: Anti-Slavery Office, 1845) http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/abaufda14t.html, cited Feb. 23, 2023.
4. Derwin L. Gray, “How To Heal Our Racial Divide,” (Carol Streams: Tyndakle, 2022), 111.
5. “African-American Religion: A Historical Interpretation with Representative Documents,” “African Americans and Billy Sunday in Atlanta,” (November–December 1917), https://aardoc.sites.amherst.edu/Atlanta_1.html, cited March 1, 2023.
6. “The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute,” “Southern Christian Leadership Conference,”(SCLC), https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/southern-christian-leadership-conference-sclc, cited March 1, 2023.
7. Ibid., 150.
8. Derwin L. Gray, “How To Heal Our Racial Divide,” (Carol Stream: Tyndale, 2022), 235.