C Army Reinforces Commitment to Dr. King’s Vision Commissioner Roberts joins representatives of Christian communions in the USA in signing the Response to Dr. King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. ommissioner William Roberts, USA National Commander, and Lt. Colonel Stephen Banfield, National Secretary for Program, joined with Christian Churches Together in April to commemorate and respond to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Dr. King wrote his letter 50 years ago after being arrested and jailed for helping organize nonviolent protests on behalf of desegregation. He was responding to a Catholic priest, six Protestants and a rabbi who petitioned the civil rights movement to hold negotiations rather than demonstrations. His letter is considered a seminal statement on social justice, nonviolent protest and the foundational principles of America. “We proclaim that, while our context today is different, the call is the same as in 1963—for followers of Christ to stand together, to work together, and to struggle together for justice,” the 20-page document states. More than 100 Christian leaders signed the response during an ecumenical gathering at St. Paul Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, confessing their silence and slowness in addressing racial injustice. “The mission of The Salvation Army reflects exactly the ideals of Dr. King. We take this opportunity to pledge our continued pursuit and affirm our commitment to serve human need without discrimination, a hallmark and characteristic of The Salvation Army throughout its 148 year history,” Commissioner Roberts said. A Salvation Army position statement on race relations released in 1964 voiced respect for individuals regardless of race, ethnicity or any trait other than being a child of a loving God. (Visit www.thewarcry. org for statement). During 1965, the Army further clarified its position in the War Cry: “The Salvation Army opposes discriminatory practices related to race or national origin at all levels of operation and administration . . . It faces firmly and supports fully the imperatives of human and civil rights . . . With such a heritage, today’s Salvationists can do no other than stand firm on the basic Salvation Army philosophy, Bible-given, that ‘all men are created equal’ for ‘God hath made of one blood all nations of man, . . . Barriers, walls of prejudice, for reasons of race or color, are intolerable to the Salvationist who is committed to the brotherhood of all men.” (Source, Sweeping Through the Land, a History of The Salvation Army in the Southern United States by Allen Satterlee, ©1989.) 26 The War Cry | JUNE 2013