On MLK’s ‘I have a dream’ anniversary, Warren emphasizes the intersection of race and economics

August 29, 2017 ATLANTA—Speaking at Martin Luther King’s church on the anniversary of his most famous speech, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) warned that racism and racial tensions keep the United States from building a fairer economy that benefits all workers.

“So long as we stay divided, this economy will continue to work for the thin slice at the top,” Senator Warren said, as the liberal icon and potential 2020 presidential candidate buttressed her usual economic arguments with social and religious overtones.

In a friendly Q&A conducted by Bernice King, the slain civil rights leader’s youngest child, Warren specifically bemoaned widening income gaps that disproportionately affect nonwhites and asserted that the only way to combat hate is to see “something holy in every single person.”

Warren’s appearance at Ebenezer Baptist Church comes weeks after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned deadly. Warren did not explicitly mention Charlottesville or President Donald Trump’s widely criticized remarks blaming “both sides” for violence during the rally. Warren and Ms. King also did not mention subsequent counterattacks by left-wing anarchists in Berkeley, California.

But the women agreed that national discourse is increasingly defined by extremists.

King referenced commands from Jesus, the central figure of Christianity, to “do good to those who hate you.”

Warren called it “a tough scripture,” but added, “it’s not a scripture that says just lay back and let hate roll on through.” Rather, she said, “It’s a scripture that says act, … raise your voice, not in anger, but make your voice heard for what is right and what is holy.”

Read more at The Christian Science Monitor.