The “One Thousand Ministers March for Justice”
On today’s 54th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, a rally and march was held here in D.C. Entitled the “One Thousand Ministers March for Justice”, the event was organized by organized by Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network. Participants gathered in the field just west of the memorial to Reverend King and opened the event with a rally. They then marched from the King Memorial, past The White House and the Trump International Hotel, and on to the U.S. Department of Justice Building a little over a mile away from the beginning. And on today’s bike ride I rode over and attended the rally, and then rode along with the march.
The march was deemed non political by its organizers and much of the press. But it was anything but non political. When I first arrived at the rally I heard the speaker on the stage at that time describe his divisive view of who was and was not a Christian. Included along with many other, he denounced evangelical as not being Christians. He then used the remainder of his time to criticize President Donald Trump, announcing that he also was not a Christian. The rally was so political, in fact, that an alternate rally was held at the National Press Club by other prominent religious leaders who did not share the political opinions being expressed at the march.n
In the end, I found it disappointing that an event that was billed as non political was as political, although not as passionate, as one of President Trump’s recent rallies, such as the one held in Phoenix last week. But it was even more disappointing that a rally and march intended to be an interfaith event was used to denounce people of faith if they disagreed with the liberal politics of those who helped lead the event.
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