MLK Called for the Races to Join Together in Unity at Stone Mountain; Atlanta-Area Ministers are Making It Happen

Josh Shepherd : Apr 4, 2018
Stream.org

As America remembers the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., two Atlanta-area ministers are rebirthing the racial unity movement for a new generation.

[Stream.org] Today marks 50 years since the tragic assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by a gunman in Memphis, Tennessee. The night before, King had inspired thousands of local workers gathered at a Christian church with a prophetic speech grounded in Biblical allusions. A peaceful march to protest unfair wages was planned. (Photo: Stone Mountain in Georgia/via New Georgia Encyclopedia)

Five decades later, many leaders note that prejudiced public policies persist. Only weeks ago, police officers in Sacramento, California fatally shot 22 year-old black man Stephon Clark. While voices on the right and left mourn with his grieving family, our racial chasm remains.

Fortunately, Christian leaders are once again rising up to stand in the gap. Two Atlanta-area pastors, Bishop Garland Hunt and Billy Humphrey, have a vision to see 30,000 people come together this summer to renounce racism—at Stone Mountain, long associated with Confederate history and white nationalism. Their regional gatherings have continued to grow, with hundreds of local pastors involved.

Despite diverse backgrounds, the two ministers share a unified message as they speak from downtown Atlanta.

FROM ACTIVIST TO RECONCILER

The Stream: Could you share about your history with the civil rights movement?

Bishop Garland Hunt: I was born and raised here in Atlanta. During my childhood and teen years, this was the hotbed for civil rights. I grew up with Ralph Abernathy's son and some of Dr. King's kids in that era.

I remember the day when Dr. King was killed—I was just ten years old. It impacted us so greatly. It gave me a strong personal burden for the black community, even at an early age. So much so, my education was focused on my people. I wanted to become a lawyer to help alleviate the struggles of blacks.

At the time, the capstone of black education was Howard University—right in the hub of the nation's capital. I chose to go there for undergrad and law school. I served as chairman of the National Organization of Black University College Students. It brought together leadership on a national scale for black higher education.

"I realized my culture could not drive all my decisions and my filters. I began to see the most important thing was my love for Christ, not my love for race." -Hunt

My focus was extremely ethnic and cultural, lifting up the black community. I wasn't so much a victim of racism directly as much as I was very ethnic-conscious. I met many leaders such as Stokely Carmichael with SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)—at that point, he had changed his name to Kwame Ture—and Ron Karenga, the founder of Kwanzaa.

I even studied the works of Louis Farrakhan and met him personally when he reestablished the Nation of Islam. I was kind of confused. As a student leader introducing him, I prayed that God would use him to speak to us. That shows my level of confusion!

The Stream: What changed that shifted your focus in life?

Hunt: My focus in life started out dealing with a burden for black people, how we can shape their future and direction. I did many things in that arena. When I finally gave my life to the Lord, things began to change in the context of my politics and focus on…

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