Coretta Scott King

After an enforced hiatus brought about when my computer crashed, I am now back, having just received it almost as good as new from my firstborn whiz kid, Kevin. If you use your computer daily and you've had to be without it for a month, then I'm sure you can empathize. Hopefully, I won't have to go through this again for a long time.

So with Black History month also over, I'd like to repeat this post I'd published some years ago on Coretta Scott King, wife of Rev. Martin Luther King. Mrs. King was well known for her support of her husband during the turbulent civil rights days and  after his death she continued the struggle along with several of his aides. Mrs. King, herself now deceased,  remains an iconic model of courage, loyalty and dedication for women everywhere.

As you read about this famous lady, ask yourself, are you as faithful and dedicated to your husband as you should be? You don't have to be another Coretta King, but you can be the kind of wife your husband needs. If your answer leaves you in doubt, ask the Holy Spirit to help you become that kind of woman.

American Negro Spirituals - A Christian Heritage

English: cropped version of Image:Harriet Tubman.jpg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many of us have grown up hearing and singing the old African negro spirituals like Wade In The Water, Steal Away, Swing Low Sweet Chariot and many others. These songs were believed to send secret messages among the slaves to show them means of escape. While Wade In The Water is believed to contain explicit instructions to the slaves to escape by means of water in order to throw pursuing bloodhounds off their scent, the song does have its roots in Christianity. In the Old Testament, God gave Moses the blueprint for leading the Israelites out of captivity by means of the Red Sea. The song also borrows a phrase in the New Testament about an angel troubling the water to bring about healing to anyone who went into the pool in time. 

Swing Low Sweet Chariot is another popular negro spiritual that was believed to contain coded means of escape for the slaves. In fact, it was thought to be a favorite of Harriet Tubman, notable leader of the Underground Railroad. However, unlike Wade In The Water and other negro spirituals whose composers are largely unknown, most historians believe that Swing Low Sweet Chariot was composed by "Uncle Wallis", a slave of a Chocktaw Indian tribe who had been converted to Christianity.

At the time, the Chocktaws  were one of the five "civilized" Indian tribes who practiced a  form of slavery similar to that of the whites. Brit Willis, Uncle Wallis' owner, hired Wallis out to entertain the Chocktaw boys  at Spencer Academy, and the song became popular among them, not among African-American slaves. In fact, the song was not circulated among African-Americans until after the civil war.

As I researched the information for this post, I was reminded of the song, By The Rivers of Babylon, sung by the Israelites after they were taken captive to Babylon. That song is based on these words from Psalm 137: By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" 4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?

Is it a lot different from African slaves holding their secret church meetings and singing and crying out to their God for spiritual as well as physical deliverance? I don't think so.  
Enjoy this moving video below.

Are You Letting Your Light Shine?

During the month of February, we'll hear about courageous African American men and women who risked a lot, in some cases their very lives, so we can enjoy the freedom we have today. Names like Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglass and Rosa Parks are among the many icons who are featured on radio and TV during Black History month. However, during those dark days of slavery when slaves were forbidden to assemble for any reason whatsoever, there were still some who managed to shine the light of Jesus Christ and even became missionaries to foreign lands.

Here is a short list:

Peter Claver, born 1581 in Spain, became a Jesuit priest at age 20 and traveled to South America where he ministered to African slaves when they arrived in Cartagena, Colombia. He became known as "Slave of the Blacks," and "Slaves of the Slaves."

Richard Allen, born February 1760, founded the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church in 1816. This church became the largest denomination of African Americans, sending missionaries to Haiti, San Domingo and Africa. Allen developed such a strong Christian faith he was able to convert his owner. 

Henry Garnet was a  Presbyterian minister who became the first African American to preach a sermon in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1852 he traveled to Jamaica as a missionary.

Peter Williams was a slave who purchased his freedom in 1785. At that time, blacks who belonged to white churches had to sit at the back of the church and could not bury their dead on church grounds. In 1796, Williams and other black church members decided to form their own congregation. In 1800 Williams laid the cornerstone of the Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church at the corner of Church and Leonard Streets in New York.

Betsey Stockton was born in slavery in 1798 in New Jersey. While working with the Reverend Nathaniel Todd, Betsey became a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Princeton. Betsey later joined a company of missionaries to the Sandwich Islands (present-day Hawaii) on a trip that lasted five months with no stopovers. Betsey became the first single American woman sent overseas as a missionary.

Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5 : 16).  These brave pioneers could have settled for sitting at the back of the church and all the other indignities associated with their station, but instead they followed the great commission and did what they did to advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ on this earth. Can we emulate them in some small way? Will we let our light shine?

Carry Your Candle

Photo credit: MarcoMaru from morguefile.com    I don't know what prompted me to start singing this song this past week, but the words have been going round and round in my mind every day. I can only attribute this to the work of  the blessed Holy Spirit.  This song  deals with the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.  Part of the first verse goes like this: There is a spirit who brings the fire, Ignites the candle and makes its home. You see, when the Holy Spirit comes to live in us, He lights our candle, empowers us to be the best we can be, so we can shine, not for ourselves, but for Him. On our own, we may just be carrying a candle "without a flame." What good is that?


In  Matthew 5: 14 - 16, Jesus says, " Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid . Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."


As Christians, we are called upon to be the light of the world. In other words, to carry our candle, to show the world we are proud to be followers of Jesus Christ, to make a difference whenever and wherever we can. This week I came across a great example of someone who is carrying his candle for Jesus Christ. He is Ramiro Garcia, worship leader, who was born without ears, and was not expected to hear or speak. Ramiro recently auditioned for American Idol, sang Amazing Grace and was included to go on to the next level. Check out the video on You Tube: 





This is black history month, and you may be hearing stories you've heard before of courageous African Americans such as Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubman, just to name a few. Their acts of  bravery and courage may make many of us feel inadequate by comparison. You may never be featured on You Tube or in the daily newspaper, but you can carry your candle by helping someone in need, or by telling them about Jesus Christ. The good that we do is for God's glory, not ours. Think about it, then ask the Holy Spirit to ignite your flame and let your light shine - for Him.  

Related articles

• The Holy Spirit (God's reprover) that deals with the negative side of life (ptl2010.com)
• Question of the day, what is a Christian? Sometimes it's good to look at the basics. (pastormikesays.wordpress.com)

Uncle Tom's Cabin: A Lesson in Forgiveness

Many of you may have read this epic novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, a nineteenth century abolitionist and author. This novel, believed to be the precursor of the Civil War, became such a sensation that President Abraham Lincoln is purported to have said when he met Stowe,  "So here is the little lady who made this big war."

The novel tells the story of  Uncle Tom, a middle-aged black slave who was sold by his master, Arthur Shelby, in order to pay off his debts. Uncle Tom ends up on a riverboat down the Mississippi River where he befriends a young, white girl named Eva. She falls into the river one night and he rescues her. Augustine St. Clare, Eva's father, buys Tom in order to show his gratitude. The friendship between Tom and Eva deepens as they share their Christian faith. Eva becomes ill and dies, not before asking her father to free Tom. Her father agrees, but before he can do that, he is stabbed to death and his wife reneges on the promise, selling Tom to a vicious plantation owner, Simon Legree.

Legree hates Tom and beats him when he refuses to beat a fellow slave. Tom's faith is sorely tested but he continues to read his Bible and comfort the other slaves. When Cassy, a female slave, decides to run away, Tom encourages her. He refuses to tell Legree where Cassy has gone, so Legree orders his overseers to kill Tom. As Tom lies dying, he forgives the men. Humbled by Tom's forgiveness, both men become Christians. Just before Tom breathes his last, George Shelby, son of Tom's first slave master, arrives to purchase Tom's freedom, but is too late.

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin Uncle Tom's Cabin (Thrift Edition)to highlight the cruelties of slavery. She succeeded in doing so, but Stowe, who was a Christian, also showcased the love of Christ who taught us the value of forgiveness. As He was dying on the cross He also prayed,  "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23: 34). When Peter asked Jesus if he should forgive his brother seven times, Jesus replied, " I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven" (Matthew 18: 22).

Do you, or I, have that capacity to forgive your enemies?  Or do we hate them as they hate us? If we are Christians we are told, "Do not take revenge ... but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge, I will repay', says the Lord" (Romans 12: 19).  As we reflect on slavery and the injustices meted out to our ancestors, let us also focus on Jesus Christ who exemplified love and forgiveness in His life and death.

Walking Beside Him

I decided to contribute to this last Sunday in Black History month with this post about a woman who featured prominently in our society up until her passing in 2006. This woman is none other than Coretta Scott King who walked bravely beside her husband, Martin Luther King. In the midst of their civil rights activities, Mrs. King found the time to juggle housework and babies while her husband spent time pursuing his dream of equality for the black race. And in addition to performing her role as wife and mother, Mrs. King also took part in protest rallies, spoke to scores of people and protected her children from a bomb or two.


Coretta King gave up the bright lights of a singing career to become the wife of a Baptist minister in 1953. She later gave birth to four children. Early in the marriage she worked alongside her husband, or it was more like marched, traveled abroad with him and spoke on his behalf when he was unable to do so. Coretta survived Martin Luther King by four decades, and determined that the work he began would live on, she gave herself no time to mourn. Just four days after his death she led a march through the streets of Memphis, and attended the Poor People’s March in Washington later that year.

Over the years, Coretta King continued to work tirelessly in her husband’s memory, establishing the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, Georgia, and achieving the goal of having her husband’s birthday honored as a public holiday in Jan. 1986. She continued to travel the globe, preaching the gospel of equality and became a goodwill ambassador and advisor to world leaders, including Nelson Mandela.

Like most wives of men in the limelight, Coretta had to put up with the scores of women who admired and followed her husband. Despite rumors of infidelity on Martin Luther’s part, Coretta “stood by her man” and did not allow those rumors to affect their relationship.

As women we can learn from Mrs. King's example of loyalty, devotion and courage. Whether we are married to a world leader or a subordinate, those qualities can be the "wind beneath our mate's wings." God calls us to no less.

Can We Forgive?

American Idol has become one of the most popular TV show in recent times. I never became a serious fan of the show because quite frankly I'm turned off by Simon's caustic sarcasm. I think that a judge should be able to tell someone their performance stinks without saying, "Is there an odor around here?" The other reason I don't follow the show is my choice never wins.

This happened a few years ago when my choice, Mandisa, lost to someone else, but as far as I am concerned she was a winner in more ways than one because she had the nerve to stand up to the insufferable Simon. You see, he took issue with her size, and in his own inimitable way, made certain remarks which were very insulting.

The charming, talented young woman told Simon in no uncertain terms that she forgave him without needing an apology because Jesus had forgiven her! To have the boldness to say that on national TV is a gift that could only have come from God. When I heard it I thought, I have to see who this person is, so I watched the show after that and was very impressed.

In reading about the trailblazers that shaped the future of African Americans, I came across a story of a young lady who also displayed a great lesson in courage and forgiveness. Six-year-old Ruby Bridges was bused to the Franz Elementary School in New Orleans under desegregation laws, and met with a great deal of persecution from the white parents, so much so that President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered that she be escorted by marshals to school every day.



As a result parents kept their children away from the school as a mark of protest, so little Ruby sat alone in the school while her teacher taught her. But it is recorded that while she was being escorted she prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Eventually the whites woke up to the realization that their kids were not being educated and they sent them back to school.

I spoke to a man the other day who said, “I will never forgive my ex-wife for what she did to me. Never!” He admitted that he was only hurting himself, and when I told him that Jesus chose to forgive the Roman soldiers who tortured and killed Him, he became even more angry and stormed away. But whether you’re dealing with a Simon, an errant spouse or a whole bunch of enemies, forgiveness wins every time.