In the Bible times, the Egyptians considered the Israelites as a threat due to their “growing population.” Their first stage, as Leon J. Wood describes, was to command Hebrew midwives “to kill every male Hebrew child at the moment of birth” (Exodus 1:15-21). Because the first stage failed, the Pharaoh produced the second stage: to throw all Hebrew male children into the Nile and they would drown (Exodus 1:22). In addition, Egyptians planned on “restricting freedom of movement and employment while slave owners used them for hard labor” (Wood 91-92). As a result, God sent Moses to free His people from slavery by sending across the Red Sea into the Promised Land (Exodus 3:16-20). Moses’ leadership to bring the Israelites out of slavery inspired Harriet Tubman to lead the African American people out of slavery; she established the Underground Railroad in order to help slaves go to the North and receive their freedom (The Americans 311). Moses and Harriet exemplified how African American leaders, abolitionists, and Civil Rights Activists should be active in their fight against slavery: becoming a voice for the …show more content…
Martin Luther King created a sermon called The Most Durable Power in order to teach people about Jesus’ version on today’s oppression. King clarified that becoming an African American and Christian would make life harder for others; they worry not just about slavery, but persecution. He persuaded that they should continue teaching about the love of God to future generations (King n.p.). What Jesus explained in the Beatitudes was that God blesses the persecuted because they seek after righteousness; their reward is Heaven (Matthew 5:10). Jesus referenced that the reason why people persecuted Christians; due to sin, humanity lost its faith in God; consequently, other religions denied Christ and attempted to annihilate Christ by spreading lies about Him or stating Him as a fictional character. However, Jesus and Dr. King claimed that despite the discrimination and persecution African Americans suffer from Whites and non-Christians, African Americans should persevere in teaching about love; as a result, African Americans can find their identities as well as protesting for their rights