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Rev. Dr. W. Wilson Goode, Sr. - 2005 Servant
of this Present Age
View Map of Justice Sunday 2005 MLK Day of Service Grantees
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The Organizational Focus
Specific to Dr. King
Service: People to People
Symbolic Themes
Prior to 2000, the national focus for the National Association
of Blacks in Criminal Justice (NABCJ) was exclusively devoted to training
and primarily carried out through its National Conference and Training Institute.
However, it is the mission of the organization TO ACT upon the needs, concerns,
and contributions of African Americans and other people of color as they
relate to the administration of equal justice. This in mind:
The work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an African
American who gave his life in service benefitting the administration of equal
justice, provided NABCJ with the perfect example to inspire its membership,
other professional colleagues, and the country at large TO ACT.
In July 2000, NABCJ commissioned its first affiliate as
a committee, the National Religious Affairs Association (NRAA). The mission
of NRAA is to promote the value of the inclusion of faith in addressing consequences
and resolutions of crime with emphasis upon its impact on African Americans
and other people of color in society.
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To understand Justice Sunday, it is important to speculate, “What
Would Dr. King Do Now?” While there is no way to know with
complete certainty, as acknowledged by his son, Martin Luther King III,
there are several variables which are absolute:
In a 1965 article in Ebony Magazine, Dr. King reflected, “ .
. . I am fundamentally a clergyman, a Baptist preacher . . . The faith must
have some relevance here . . .”
Pursuant to the above and in the words of Dr. Clayborne
Carson, Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project, Dr. King vowed
during his years in seminary to become an advocate of “the social gospel,” (secular
service) committing himself to change the societies so that the individual
soul will have a chance.
Symbolizing his profession as a clergy and in respect for
the Baptist tradition for day of worship, we chose the Sunday before the
federal holiday as a symbol of who he was and to represent the platform from
which he most often gave the charge to serve, the pulpit. From this and other
variables presented thus far, we derived the name for the movement, Justice
Sunday.
With respect to his widow, family, and his memory upheld
through the Martin Luther King Center for Non-Violent Social Change in Atlanta,
Georgia, we feel it is important to gain their authorization each year to
engage in Justice Sunday. Through a Grant of Rights, Justice Sunday has been
authorized each of its five years.
The Justice Sunday movement hopes to continue and grow
the emphasis upon Dr. King as an icon for action and service and a motivation
to defy complacency and divides. Our chosen areas of service automatically
consider the sensitivities which coincide with Dr. King’s service.
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Pursuant to the above, In his book, “Where
Do We Go From here: Chaos or Community,” Dr. King called for “a
new revolution of values” to create a society based on compassion
and justice, among other attributes. Populations which participate in and
those most directly affected by crime (offenders
themselves, children of offenders, those who are disproportionately confined)
provide a unique opportunity around which to base compassionate service.
Through the oversight of the Corporation for National
and Community Service, the King federal holiday provided the perfect opportunity
around which to design and build a campaign which each year activates and
targets the very populations Dr. King most served through his service, those
most vulnerable and subject to oppression.
Dr. King lived and died in the performance of service.
It would be befitting to honor him in the same manner.
In determining the specifics of volunteerism and service,
we reflect upon the eulogy Dr. King suggested for his own funeral which provides
the best indications of the values he would still affirm in his life: “ .
. .I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. . .” While
environmental and other projects are important, it is for this reason that
we strongly believe that service which honors Dr. King, not just the act
of volunteerism alone, should be orchestrated in a manner which echoes his
philosophy of service to humanity and mankind.
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January is National Mentoring Month and provides the perfect
opportunity to promote service around mentoring and justice.
The annual theme for Justice Sunday, “A Charge to
Keep We Have: Service Before and Beyond, ” is quite symbolic. It evolves
from the title and meaning of a hymn by Charles Wesley:
Spoken from a religious perspective, David Lowes
Watson, a contemporary Wesleyan scholar and professor at Wesley Theological
Seminary in Washington, DC, suggests that “acts of compassion” and “acts
of justice” may be a more contemporary translation of the “works
of mercy” in their personal and social forms, and “works of piety” can
be translated into “public acts of worship” and “private
acts of devotion.”
Spoken from a secular perspective, we have a responsibility
(a charge) to keep (make
a commitment). We ask that in honor of Dr. King, the commitment/pledge
would begin the day before (Sunday) the
federal holiday, begin (to serve the present age) of pressing social issues
around justice themes (wording further referenced
in the lyrics of the hymn, “A Charge To Keep We Have”)
and would continue beyond the holiday for at least one year.
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