Tag Archives: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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Robin Roberts Presents: ‘Mahalia’ to Premiere on Saturday, April 3rd at 8PM ET/PT on Lifetime!

Hello World,

ABC NEWS – Robin Roberts
(ABC/Heidi Gutman)

There will be excellent Easter programming this weekend! Lifetime’s highly anticipated gospel biopic Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia, will premiere Saturday, April 3 at 8:00pm ET/PT. An impressive list of Broadway stars including Tony® nominee Joaquina Kalukango (Slave Play), Jason Dirden (Fences & OWN’s Greenleaf...I loved him as Basie Skanks), Olivia Washington (The Butler) and Rob Demery (Lovecraft Country) join the film which is directed by Tony® Award-winner Kenny Leon and stars Tony Award nominee, SAG and Grammy® Award winning actress Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black) as the gospel legend and civil rights trailblazer.

In the movie, Dirden stars as Russell Roberts, the dashing, music-loving Reverend who falls  for Mahalia when they first meet in the late 1940s while Kalukango takes on the role of Mildred, Mahalia’s talented and opinionated, long-time pianist. Washington portrays Estelle, a piano teacher Mahalia meets at church who goes on to become her life-long friend and Demery stars as the influential civil rights leader.

Born in New Orleans, Mahalia Jackson began singing at an early age and went on to become one of the most revered gospel figures in U.S. history, melding her music with the civil rights movement. Her recording of the song Move on Up a Little Higher sold millions of copies, skyrocketing her to international fame and gave her the opportunity to perform at diverse settings including in front of a racially integrated audience at the prestigious Carnegie Hall and at John F. Kennedy’s inaugural ball. An active supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, Jackson sang at numerous rallies, including the March on Washington in 1963 alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in hopes that her music would encourage and inspire racial equality.

Danielle Brooks sings these songs in the movie including Come On Children Let’s Sing, Didn’t It Rain, Elijah Rock, His Eyes On The Sparrow, How I Got Over, I’m Going to Live the Life I Sing About in My Song, I’ve Been Buked, Move On Up A Little Higher, My God Is Real, Precious Lord Take My Hand, Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child. Soundtrack will be available on ABKCO Music & Records.

Below is the trailer…

From Rock’n Robin Productions and Lincoln Square Productions, Mahalia is executive produced by Robin Roberts and Linda Berman. Danielle Brooks and Kenny Leon are co-executive producers. Leon directs from a script written by Bettina Gilois and Todd Kreidler.

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Pastor Warnock Becomes First Black U.S. Senator from Georgia!

Hello World,

Congratulations to the Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock on his Senate win! Even if you don’t agree with his politics, the symbolism of the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spiritual home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., being elected as the first black U.S. Senator from Georgia is inescapable. And that’s all I have to say about that…

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Georgia Senate Candidate Pastor Raphael Warnock & His Church Elders Receive Death Threats According to Radio Personality Darlene McCoy

Hello World,

I should be surprised by this news, but nothing in politics surprises me anymore. But this news does sadden me. No one should receive death threats just because he or she is a political candidate, but to threaten the elders of a church is pure evil. Surely the devil and his agents are at work. See the Facebook post of Praise 102.5 Radio Personality Darlene McCoy below…

Pastor Warnock and the elders and leaders of his church are receiving death THREATS to their family JUST because He is…

Posted by Darlene Johnson McCoy on Thursday, December 10, 2020

 

Let’s pray for the safety of Pastor Warnock and the elders and leaders of Ebenezer Baptist Church, the church of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Even if you don’t agree with him politically, you should not want him, the elders of his church nor anyone for that matter harmed for political pursuits.

In other news, black ministers recently sent an open letter to Pastor Warnock to challenge him on his recent statements on abortion, according to the AJC.

Below are a few of the highlights:

*Dear Reverend Warnock,

We are a coalition of Black Christian ministers who, like you, feel called by God to preach the Bible, advocate for justice and fight against societal evils. We applaud your commendable efforts to share Christ while pursuing political solutions to our most pressing problems today.

But precisely because we share so much in common with you, we feel compelled to confront your most recent statements concerning abortion. You have gone on the record saying that you are a “pro-choice pastor” who will “always fight for reproductive justice.” You have publicly expressed your views that abortion is an exercise of “human agency and freedom” that is fully consistent with your role as a shepherd of God’s people.

*Abortion prematurely thwarts God’s providential and loving plan for a promising human life. And by terminating an innocent unborn life in the womb, abortion directly violates the seventh commandment: “Thou shalt not kill.” God demands that every faithful Christian protect and uphold the sanctity of innocent human life, at every stage of life. Supporting abortion represents a serious abdication of and a transgression against that responsibility, just like the disrespect of the poor, the disabled, or the elderly.

Couching abortion in the language of “reproductive justice” may be savvy marketing, but killing an innocent human life has nothing to do either with reproduction or with justice. Do American adults really need another public voice urging them to put their own short-term desires ahead of the needs of their children? As a pastor who speaks for the Christian community, we implore you to speak the plain truth about a practice as barbaric and destructive as abortion.

To read the entire article, click HERE.

Any thoughts?