As the nation prepares to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, one Dallas pastor says he hopes the country can move past the contentious political climate and make progress on King's vision.
At Friendship-West Baptist Church in southern Dallas, Senior Pastor Frederick Haynes had a message for church members Sunday.
“I challenged us this morning to take a fresh look at Dr. King and not simply get caught up in the poetry of ‘I have a dream,'” Haynes said.
The church hosted its fourth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Teach-In on Saturday, an event focused on revisiting King's legacy.
Hayne said several young people took part and thousands of people watched virtually.
“At the time, we had 2,700 people tune in, which was a record because we never had to do it until the pandemic made us do it like this,” he said.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
One of the speakers was Dr. George Mason of Wilshire Baptist Church in Northeast Dallas.
“The Teach-In is a way of saying we’re going to take the analysis of Dr. King in his day, and apply it to our day,” Mason said.
Haynes, who is Black, talked about why it was important for people to see a white pastor, like Mason, on the panel.
“There’s never been movement for progress in this country, unless it’s been multi-racial,” Haynes said.
Haynes said he was hopeful the incoming Biden administration would continue the work that King started and will lead by example.
“We’re in a nightmare right now. It was nightmarish what happened on Jan. 6," Hayne said. "That means Dr. King’s dream, I think, is more important today than it was when he articulated it August 28, 1963."
He said while thousands tuned in to watch Saturday’s live virtual teach-in, that number has since quadrupled as people watched the event online.
