The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. electrified the nation when he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, but there was another famous American pastor who was not impressed.
Billy Graham, who had refused to participate in the 1963 March on Washington, dismissed King's belief that protests could create a "Beloved Community" in America where even "down in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will join hands with little white boys and white girls."
"Only when Christ comes again will the little white children of Alabama walk hand in hand with little black children," Graham said after King's speech.
Graham's response to the epic march raises a question about his legacy that some scholars and activists have asked for years: How can anyone call Graham a great pastor when he refused to take a clear, unequivocal public stand against the greatest moral evil America faced in his day: racial segregation?
"Only when Christ comes again will the little white children of Alabama walk hand in hand with little black children," Graham said after King's speech.
Graham's response to the epic march raises a question about his legacy that some scholars and activists have asked for years: How can anyone call Graham a great pastor when he refused to take a clear, unequivocal public stand against the greatest moral evil America faced in his day: racial segregation?
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