On April 17, 2015, CAAP presented Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore with the inaugural Letter from Birmingham Jail Courage Award. The award recognized Judge Moore’s principled stand for marriage and family in a time when both are under attack. Below is just some of the media coverage of the award ceremony.
Civil Rights Activists Honor Roy Moore For Gay Marriage Stance
Alabama News Network
The award was presented by the Coalition of African American Pastors, a national group that’s about 7,000 strong.
They say Moore earned the award because he’s defending civil rights.
The award is called the Letter From Birmingham Jail Courage Award.
It calls back to when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter about standing up to immoral law while sitting in a jail cell.
William Owens, founder of the coalition of african american pastors, says that’s exactly what Chief Justice Moore is doing.
“He suffers because of what he believes, he’s persecuted, and he’s going against the grain. Remember, Dr. King’s letter was in reply to his critics who criticized him for what he’s doing. Justice Moore stands out nationwide,” said Owens.
Owens marched in the civil rights movement 50 years ago.
He says fellow activists agree that the struggle for gay marriage is not a civil rights issue.
“Do you compare this? Did you march for this? No, all of them. Some words they used I can’t use. Absolutely we marched that we could have the American dream, that we could go to college, go to the college of our choice,” said Owens.
There have been no same sex marriages performed in Alabama since the state supreme court against a federal order in March.
Probate judges can no longer issue same sex marriage licenses, unless the U-S supreme court says different after a case this summer.
Moore says it’s important for him to keep up his stance.
“This is not about civil rights except the rights that we have about the institution of marriage. That’s being taken away form us and it is a right of all people to enter into the marriage of a man and a woman and I think that’s what the right is about. It’s not about any creation of a right between two men and two women,” said Moore.
Black Pastors Coalition Issues Inaugural Award to Alabama Chief Justice Moore for Stand on Marriage
Breitbart
The Coalition of African American Pastors (CAAP) awarded Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore the “Letter from Birmingham Jail Courage” Award Friday for maintaining his stand on marriage between one man and one woman.
The 7,000-member black pastors group, led by founder and President Rev. William Owens, honored Moore after his recent instruction to Alabama’s state probate judges not to issue same-sex marriage licenses according to a federal court’s ruling. According to a press release from CAAP, the event took place on the steps of the Alabama Supreme Court in Montgomery.
Chief Justice Roy Moore honored by Coalition of African American Pastors
WSFA News
The Coalition of African American Pastors presented Moore with their first ever “letter from a Birmingham Jail Award” on Friday.
The coalition says it is inspired by Dr. King’s famous letter for Justice.
The founder of the coalition, Reverend Williams Owens, was part of the civil rights movement, and like Moore, he says marriage is not a civil rights issue.
“This is not about civil rights, except the rights that we have about the institution of marriage that’s being taken away from us,” Moore said. “And it is a right of people to enter into a marriage between a man and a woman and I think that’s what the right is about. It is not about any creation of a right between two men and two women.”
African-American Pastors to Give Alabama Judge Moore Courage Award
The New American
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore will receive the first “Letter From Birmingham Jail Courage Award” from the Coalition of African-American Pastors, the CAAP announced this week. The group plans to present to Moore the first of what is planned as an annual award sometime this spring, according to the announcement sent out on Wednesday. The award is named for civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.’s impassioned plea to fellow clergymen to stand united in opposition to segregation, written while he was jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. CAAP announced the award would got to Moore the day after the Alabama Supreme Court ordered the state’s probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite a federal court ruling declaring the state’s ban on same-sex “marriage” unconstitutional.
Roy Moore to receive award named for Letter from Birmingham Jail for gay marriage fight
AL.com
A group of Christian pastors will present an award named for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Friday to Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, in recognition of his efforts to stop same-sex marriage in Alabama.
The Coalition of African-American Pastors announced Thursday that Moore would receive their inaugural Letter from a Birmingham Jail Courage Award to recognize his “dedication to justice and natural law,” according to a news release.
Group to give Roy Moore award for controversial stand on gay marriage
WTVM News
The Coalition of African-American Pastors has created the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail Award” and plans to honor Moore at the steps of the Alabama Supreme Court building on April 17. The award is inspired by the famous letter written by Civil Rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 16, 1963. King’s letter pleads for a non-violent response to racism.
“By making a principled and persuasive stand for marriage, Justice Moore has singled himself out as someone who is ready to defend our most cherished values and help lead this new civil rights movement,” the coalition said. “By his words and actions, he has helped preserve marriage, the family, justice, and the spirit of democracy. This is what it means to be a ‘Letter from Birmingham a Jail Courage Award’ recipient. We hope that his example inspires others to take similar action to defend marriage in their own communities.”
