President ‘biden in the Pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, This Moring.
“Lincoln on the Verge – Thirteen Days to Washington” by Ted Widmer. Paperback., Published in 2020 and Can be Purchased at Sherman’s Books, Exchange Street, Portland.
Some Members of the Choir at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, GA., that President Biden Found “Intimidating” to Follow.
This morning on the observation of the 94th birthday of the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, President Biden said he had two heroes in his life. One is MLK and the other is Bobby Kennedy..
During his sermon in Ebenezer Baptist Church, President Biden said that he is the first sitting President ever to speak in this pulpit on a Sunday morning – a Sunday morning that marks MLK’s 94th birthday.
“This is the time of choosing . Do we want to choose democracy or autocracy,?” the President asked the congregation. He asked if the congregation wanted to choose love over hate, community over chaos or kindness over cruelty?
In 1963, Dr. King spoke of his dream. That all people would have dignity, respect, liberty and justice. “We are not there yet,” said President President from Dr. King’s former pulpit. Nothing in this life is guaranteed and that incudes our democracy. This nation of voters needs to defend it and protect it. The President said that in his Oval Office at the White House, he has two statues. One bust is of MLK and the other of Rosa Parks. Parks later said that the reason for her defiance on a bus that day was because, “I’ve had enough.” MLK once asked where do we go from here? President Biden responded: “We go forward. There is always hope. We have to have hope,” he said.
At the outset of his remarks, the President said that he has spoken in front of kings and queens. “This is intimidating. Following the singing of this choir is intimidating,” he said to the laughter of the congregation.
“Instead, he said something close to the opposite: democracy was worth the struggle to get it right.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,democracy had been tarnished by corruption, insider deals, and broken promises. It had been degraded, specifically by the Slave Power, aggresively intensifying its assault on the basic human rights that the republic had been founded upon. With Lincoln’s election, the people had drawn a line.” The foregoing, page 40 – 41, is an excerpt from “Lincoln on the Verge -Thirteen Days to Washington,” by Ted Widmer. This outstanding book is copyrighted in 2020 and is available in paperback. It reportedly was an inspirational read for Liz Cheney (R) and co-chair of the January 6th Committee that investigated former president Donald Trump’s criminal behavior.