2004 MLK Weekend

Until Injustice is Conquered by Love

(from the Mass for the Progress of Peoples
from the Sacramentary - the prayer over the gifts. – 1964)

The struggle for human justice is one that is as old as the history of mankind. One wonders, as perhaps human beings have always wondered, about what appears to be the problematic associated with the acquisition of justice and its elusiveness. Why is something so good for everyone so difficult to realize, practice, and to sustain?

The value that is inherent in justice is deliberately posed here as a very simple proposition. Some would contend that to do so is an oversimplification. These would offer that the proposition is shrouded in human complexities and demand further explanation. The only response we would choose to make to these disciplined and learned observers is to hold forth our Christ-filled belief in the power of love, our belief, taken from His teachings, which tells us that those who seek and practice love will transcend the problematic.

Complex or no, the well being of the human family is very much dependent on the pursuit and acquisition of the benefits that justice offers. The experience of life would otherwise have little meaning and the human family would find itself confronted, as social scientists refer to it, by the vicissitudes of the State of Nature . Our Christian faith informs us that our Heavenly Father is a Just God and that we are made in His Image and Likeness. Therefore, the logic of faith commands us to live just lives, to practice justice in all we say and do.

The pursuit of justice by Americans of African ancestry in the US Diaspora has been a long, often perilous, and always an enduring journey. Obstacles notwithstanding as Dr. King demonstrated, the journey must be made. He too believed that through love, the victims and perpetrators of injustice are reconciled, and that love will vanquish injustice and enable justice in society to obtain. As water seeks and finds its level, so will love seek and find justice.

The US Constitution, with its mid-nineteen century amendments, represented, formally, a more egalitarian social contract for all its citizens. At least that was the hope with the passage of the 13th Amendment, (Abolition of Slavery), the 14th Amendment, (Citizenship for Former Slaves, etc.) and the 15th Amendment, (The Franchise for Former Slaves). Unfortunately for all, by the first decade of the 20th Century, the former Slaves were stripped of the rights and privileges that were attached to these Constitutional Amendments. The absence of Christ Love won the temporary battle for the next sixty years. Final victory, however, is always the inexorable object of the practice of justice and love, and so those seeking justice during this period, as well as their heirs, again found themselves on the winning side, enjoying the joy of human fulfillment that Christ 's Love brings to the human heart.

Dr. King 's involvement in the Contemporary Civil Rights Movement was indeed linked to that longstanding universal quest for human justice. His connection was quintessential for the deeper appreciation, if not full practice, of justice and equality for Blacks in the US , as well as for all members of the human family. His witness was universally successful because it was empowered and driven by the nature and force of love.

The graphic rendering for 2004 Atlanta Archdiocesan Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration is the creation of Byron Wilson of Rooted Visual Communications, and a Parishioner of St. Anthony's Catholic Church. The original poster uses the colors red, white and blue, as well as those of red black and green to call to mind Dr. King 's witness of peace and justice and our obligations as practicing heirs of these principles. Though the poster is in black and white for the purposes of the Congress' newsletter, we ask the readers to imagine the original colors, as described above.

We believe that this colorful artistic depiction of the transformational power of love is revealingly inspirational. He takes the theme for the M. L. King, Jr. Celebration, Until Injustice is Conquered by Love, and states emphatically and creatively in words our belief in the power of love. This belief is further underscored by the heart symbol, the universal symbol of love. The red white and blue colors remind us that the realization of the democratic principles of our nation is inherently bound to the necessary enduring struggle for justice. The red, black, and green colors are meant to remind us, the descendents of Slaves, that it is our time to carry the torch for justice, for social and economic betterment. We would honor Dr. King and all those who struggled before us, most especially the ones who gave their lives for justice sake, by exercising the hard-won franchise this presidential election year and each time the opportunity to vote presents itself.

By Charles O. Prejean, Sr.
Director, Office for Black Catholic Ministry
Archdiocese of Atlanta