“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Today, we especially honor Martin Luther King, Jr. and continue the legacy of the many prophets who marched for civil rights in America. This includes activists such as Bayard Rustin, a leader in social movements for civil rights, nonviolence, and gay rights, who worked on the March on Washington Movement to end racial racial discrimination in employment. King’s wife, Coretta Scott King, fought tirelessly for gay rights for more than twenty years before her death in 2006, referring to her work for the LGTBQ community as an extension of her husband’s inclusive vision for America.

As Christians, we continue to seek out injustices in this world and uplift the voices of those on the margins, aiming for a future in which all people are affirmed as beloved children of God. At the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, we particularly remember that Black transgender and gender non-conforming people face some of the highest levels of discrimination in the LGTBQ community. Tracking record incidences of fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people, the Human Rights Campaign discovered that the majority were targeted at Black transgender women. In order to dismantle the stigma of belonging to intersectional identities, we must address both racism and transmisogyny.

In Luke 4:14-21, we read that Jesus began his ministry reading a text from Isaiah that speaks to transformation in the lives of the poor, the captives, and the oppressed. In that spirit, Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, calls for all Presbyterians to get involved in the work toward justice:

“I invite each of us to find fresh ways to embody what Matthew 25 calls us to be — welcoming, just and engaged. I encourage you to write your senator, congressperson and local leaders. It will take all of us working together to envision a better, brighter future for our nation and world.”