Soul Force: Martin Luther King, Jr., The Triple Evils and American Democracy

The Action Council of the UUCPA has joined the Becoming Beloved Community Task Force at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church as a co-sponsor for their free speaker series, Community, Faith, and Racial Justice.  They have invited us to attend the first talk by Dr. Lerone A. Martin, Professor and Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Institute for Research and Education at Stanford University entitled, Soul Force: Martin Luther King, Jr., The Triple Evils and American Democracy

Anyone may attend and admission is free, but we would love people to register so we can plan seating. tinyurl.com/march6speaker.

Soul Force: Martin Luther King, Jr., the Triple Evils, and American Democracy

Professor Lerone A. Martin will speak on The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s beliefs about the threats to democracy from racism, economic exploitation, and militarism. He explores some of these themes in his most recent book, The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism. Dr. Martin is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Centennial Professor and Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University.

Series Background: Our nation continues to combat racial inequality in 2024, 60 years after the passage of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act. Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palo Alto invites the wider community to an upcoming speaker series, “Community, Faith, and Racial Justice,” that explores the role of Christianity, including the current white Christian Nationalist movement, in this injustice and seeks to define a path toward justice, healing, and reconciliation. Professor Martin’s talk on Wednesday, March 6 is the inaugural event in this speaker series.

Members of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palo Alto felt compelled to create this speaker series based on their experience with the national Episcopal Church’s Becoming Beloved Community framework for racial justice, healing, and reconciliation.

Bay Area community members who want to learn more about this critical topic and how they can help enact change locally will benefit from hearing the experiences, perspectives, and ideas of these renowned authors.

Additional speakers (see below) are scheduled for 7 PM on May 8 and September 18, with all events taking place at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 600 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto. Admission is Free with donations appreciated. Light refreshments will be served following the event. Speakers’ books will be available after each event.

Accessibility: Venue is wheelchair accessible. Closed captioning will be available.

Parking: There is ample parking at the rear of the church.

Event website here, or tinyurl.com/stmarkseries

Presenting Sponsor: Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church – Palo Alto

Co-sponsors: American Muslim Voice Foundation; First Congregational Church of Palo Alto, UCC; Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice; Peninsula Solidarity Cohort; Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Saratoga; Saint Jude’s Episcopal Church, Cupertino; Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, Burlingame; Saint Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Mountain View; Saint Thomas Episcopal Church, Sunnyvale; Showing Up for Racial Justice @Sacred Heart; Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, San Jose; Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Questions? Please email beloved_community@saint-marks.com

Future speakers

May 8, 2024 7:00 PM : Confronting Christian Nationalism

The Reverend Dr. Pamela Cooper-White is an Episcopal priest and clinical psychologist and the recently retired Christiane Brooke Johnson Professor of Psychology and Religion at Union Theological Seminary. A prolific author, Prof. Cooper-White will speak on the topic of her recent book, The Psychology of White Christian Nationalism: Why People are Drawn In and How to Talk Across the Divide.

September 18, 2024 7:00 PM: Challenging Segregation With Just Action

Ms. Leah Rothstein is a community organizer and the co-author, with Richard Rothstein, of Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted under the Color of Law. She will speak on actions that communities can take to restore housing rights and access to people of color who have been excluded from the financial benefits of home ownership, access to good public schools, more protected environments, and better community services.

TENTATIVE Winter 2025 A speaker who will discuss the role of the Christian church in harming Native Americans and Asian Americans.

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