ABSTRACT
F or centuries before liberation theology, of course, the African American community had birthed a spirituality of its own, blending African tradition with the Exodus story and the Old Testament prophets
to form a religious community of succor, service, and resistance. Martin Luther King was the most important of a new generation of ministers who challenged the racism and conformity of mainstream churches in the early sixties, drawing on Mahatma Gandhi’s satyagraha (truth power) philosophy for his civil disobedience campaigns as well.
