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Every Sunday at 3:00amAbout the Show
Inspired
Inspired is the nation's leading public radio show about faith, ethics and spirituality. Each week we offer you analyses of the big headlines alongside lesser-told stories – those of Orthodox Jewish artists and African-American atheists, Muslim feminists and spiritual seekers. Through these stories, a rough sketch of our country’s religious landscape begins to emerge. It’s a marketplace of beliefs and ideas too complex for sound bites, and too important to ignore.
Reflecting Back
Our own Maureen Fiedler kicks things off with a personal reflection on what Dr. King meant to her as a young nun in the 1960s. She says that for her, King represented “the best of contemporary Christianity.” Then, we talk to Rev. Dennis Wiley, who fought to make Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday in the early 80s, and marched in the very first parade in his honor. Rev. Dennis Wiley is a pastor at Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ.
From Reluctant Radical to Moral Powerhouse
Though he was the son and grandson of ministers, it took a while for Dr. King to come into his own as both a pastor and a revolutionary. Historian Stewart Burns traces King’s transformation from cautious intellectual to fiery leader.
And we meet Christopher Murray, a high school teacher who says it’s essential to teach young people about the role of religion in American society. He reminds us that religion is not just about beliefs, it’s about actions, and that engaging with people who disagree with us can teach us more about ourselves. Stewart Burns is the author of To the Mountaintop: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Mission to Save America: 1955-1968. Christopher Murray is a social studies teacher at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Md.
The Prayer Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
For religious studies professor Lewis Baldwin, prayer was the force behind so much of King’s power, connecting him with his ancestors and giving him strength in the face of tremendous pressure. It was also a source of deep inspiration for his followers, convincing them to leave the pews and hit the streets. Lewis V. Baldwin is the author of Never To Leave Us Alone: The Prayer Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Move on Up a Little Higher: A tour of the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Just a stone’s throw from where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, there’s a striking landmark–one that people are lining up around the block to see. It’s the National Museum of African American History and Culture. We sent producers Ruth Morris and Abigail Holtzman to have a look at the museum’s many artifacts centered on faith, from Harriet Tubman’s delicate lace shawl to a striking 1961 painting by Charles White, Move on Up a Little Higher. Yolanda Pierce is the Director of the Center for African American Religious Life at the NMAAHC and Tulani Salahu-Din is the Museum Specialist at the NMAAHC.
