In his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, Martin Luther King appealed to the American nation to recognize the sins of slavery and racial hatred and to do something tangible to heal the wounds. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice… But one hundred years late

On June 19th, 1865, Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas, with news that the war was over and the slaves were now free. General Granger read to the gathered crowd General Order Number 3: “…in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves…” Soon June 19th was celebrated as the day when fr

Praise is one of the most powerful weapons available to the believer – yet it is often misunderstood or completely ignored as a path to victory in spiritual battle. The Apostle Paul writes: …be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. (Eph. 5:18b-19, NLT) It was the spiritual song – or Negro Spiritual – that gave hope to American slaves as they cried out to God, asking him to send