King articulated the ur-text of colorblind America. Though he might have deplored the uses that would be made of this phrase in later decades, the sincerity of his hope was not in doubt.79 It was a hope infused with eschatological longing. To imagine black and white children walking hand in hand in Alabama was “Thy kingdom come” translated into the American vernacular. While many white evangelicals put their hopes in a heavenly tomorrow, black activists insisted Christian unity could be made tangible today. As the Reverend James Lawson said, “The Christian favors the breaking down of racial
...more
