In the book, God’s Long Summer: Stories of Faith and Civil Rights, Charles Marsh shares the stories of men and women of faith and how they impacted the civil rights movement. One of the stories highlighted is Fannie Lou Hamer’s, a long time civil rights activist and pro-life supporter. He writes, “The call [to fight for equal rights] also made sense because the faith of the black church had prepared Mrs. Hamer for this moment. The church had sustained her wearied spirit when all other institutions had served contrary purposes. While Jim Crow society was designed to convince blacks they were nobodies, the black churches—even those that remained quiet on civil rights—preached a gospel that embraced the longings and desires of a disenfranchised people.”- Charles Marsh
Fannie Lou was a remarkable woman of faith, long suffering the injustices of segregation and yet not casting aside her faith in God or giving up on equal rights even when she suffered greatly because of her work. May we also be faithful in our love for the church and our commitment to living out the gospel for all to see.
Source: https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Long-Summer-Stories-Rights/dp/0691130671
