ATLANTA, Jan. 13, 2023 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by Dr. Alveda King, she is available for comment:
As we approach the 2023 MLK Holiday and March for Life, I embrace an annual custom of seeking insight for the New Year by studying "prophetic" messages. While I am often blessed by prophetic messages published to strengthen, edify, warn and encourage I tend to season dire warnings with faith, hope and love.
While I agree with many of his words, I pray that we acknowledge and also apply the faith, hope and love; the power of Christ's blood and victory to overcome the challenges. Therefore, this is an addendum to Chris' visions.
I see God's glorious church - The Bride of Christ - shaking out the wrinkles in the bridal raiment; without spot or wrinkles - on the rise. CHRIST HAS OVERCOME. - as occupants of God's Kingdom, we occupy until Christ's return. WE HAVE OVERCOME.
The victory remains IN CHRIST.
"When peripherals collide, convergence is imminent." Dr. Alveda King
Meanwhile, as we fast approach the 2023 Martin Luther King Holiday and March for Life weekends, many of us are seeking the heart of God for direction for the Body of Christ during these exciting and pivotal days. Here's a thought: As we March for Life, The American Dream should not be the Impossible Dream.
With 2022 quickly falling away, 2023 is already ablaze with celebrations and controversy. While awaiting the annual Martin Luther King Holiday and March for Life events, I must admit that the collective sigh of relief from many over the election of the new Speaker of the House is a breath of fresh air.
Also, there is personal loss for me and many others during this season. Two of my sweet sisters - civil rights icon Cleo Orange and freedom fighter Diamond (of Diamond and Silk) - have passed away. They will be missed. May God comfort and heal all of us who mourn.
Only God knows what lies ahead for America. One thing is for sure, we should all add more prayer on our agendas going forth. We must worship God first and foremost; then act accordingly.
The March for Life and The Martin Luther King Holiday are bookmarks on America's new calendar every year. With the overturn of Roe v Wade - sending issues of life back to the states for further deliberation - the sanctity of life issues are more important than ever.
Meanwhile, along with this MLK Holiday, August 2023 will mark 60 years since my uncle stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his famed "I Have a Dream" speech which brought a divided nation to a standstill and presented a vision of unity, peace, and most of all hope to a people who were intensely divided.
One line from my uncle MLK's words always stands out to me. In his address, he said that "when the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir."
My uncle went on to declare this note was a promise "that all men – yes, Black men as well as white men – would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
During his lifetime, as I was growing up, I could see firsthand how deeply my uncle truly believed in the promise of the American Dream. He didn't believe our nation was irredeemably stained by racism and prejudice; instead, he laid out a vision where one people could come together under our shared values and pursue one American Dream.
Of course, we have never fully reached this vision; after all, truth must be upheld and victory won in every generation. Yet, my uncle's dream of a nation where people are not "judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" is closer than before.
We as a people have made enormous progress in uniting behind one shared American dream where values — not race — come first. And thankfully, we are finally recognizing that the concept and narrative of separate races is false. It's a spiritual and scientific fact that humanity is one blood/one human race.
That's part of the reason it is so horrifying to see so much of the progress we have made get rolled back in front of our very eyes, and the American Dream becoming impossible for so many. The Biden administration has abandoned the policies that led to spectacular growth, and instead pursued policies that lead to rising inflation and unemployment, skyrocketing gas prices, a crisis at the southern border, increasingly out-of-reach homeownership, failing public schools, and an abortion radicalism that disproportionately targets minority communities.
On the other hand, we needn't look far to see what policies can really benefit our communities. Under the Trump administration, we had a leader who put the uplift of forgotten communities first, and a policy platform that delivered. From new investments into impoverished communities through Opportunity Zones, to the First Step Act's historic criminal justice reform, to record-lows for unemployment for minority groups, to increased funding for HBCUs and an embrace of school choice, we saw the sort of policies that worked — and can work again.
This embrace of freedom, and the ability for each and every individual to pursue the American Dream, is the sort of vision that can both deliver for the Black community and unite the nation. In my mind, when we unite as one people behind a shared understanding of the American Dream, there is no room left in our hearts for prejudice.
Again, at the end of the day, let's embrace the truth that Christ has given us victory over evil. Acts 17:26 is evidence that we are the one-blood human race.
We must unite in faith, hope and love. Our nation can never be strong, great, or independent when it fails to uphold the dignity of all God's children, from the womb to the tomb. It is up to all of us to stand up, fight for what's right, and defend what we believe.
This is the blueprint for making the American Dream accessible to each and every citizen today, and this is the vision we need from our leadership to unite as one people. Then, and only then can my uncle's dream be fully realized, as we embrace life and human dignity from the womb to the tomb and beyond.
Then, together in the beloved community, we can we join hands and sing the words my uncle proclaimed from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial nearly 60 years ago: "Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last."
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Alveda C. King, PhD, serves as Chair of the America First Policy Institute's Center for the American Dream. She is the daughter of the late slain civil rights activist Rev. A. D. King and the niece of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as a Christian evangelist; graduate of Aidan University; and is founder of SPEAK FOR LIFE, and ALVEDA KING MINISTRIES (www.alvedaking.com). Dr. King is also an acclaimed author, FOX television host, NEWSMAX blog contributor, twice elected to the Georgia State House, past presidential appointee, recipient of Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a film, and music veteran.
