How Your Very Presence Might Make Someone Brave

Whenever Martin Luther King needed uplifting he’d call his dear friend, gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson, and ask her to sing to him. Naturally he wanted her to sing before his speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. 

As King gazed at the crowd of 250,000 people, Jackson’s low sweet contralto was both a prayer and a promise. 

Jackson sang, “I’ve Been ‘Buked, and I’ve Been Scorned.” The hymn was Jackson’s way of reminding the crowd to keep the faith in times of great oppression. 

It was also her way of  telling MLK, “I won’t turn my back on you.” 

While listening intently to King’s speech, Jackson could tell he was faltering. Having had countless conversations with King about his dreams for Black people, she knew the message he was struggling to convey. 

Moved by Spirit, Jackson cried out. 

“Tell ‘em about the dream, Martin!” King immediately put down his notes and improvised what became his historic “I Have A Dream,” speech. 

At the heart of our solidarity is community care. Community care is when we take actions that remind our loved ones, “Not only is God with you, but I am too.” 

Your very presence might be the thing that gives someone the courage to change history.