The Story of Exodus Through Martin Luther King Jr.’s Eyes

Famous for his civil disobedience practices, Martin Luther King Jr. pushed for racial unity, racial integration, as well as economic and social equalities. Given he was a reverend, it’s no surprise that the civil rights leader used biblical stories to communicate his agenda and ideas. For instance, during his 1956 speech, “The Death of Evil upon the Seashore,” King retells Exodus in relation to the Civil Rights Movement, but with a stark difference: the interpretation of evil, as well as the overarching goal of the journey.

In the book of Exodus, God hears his people, the Israelites, suffering as slaves under the Egyptians, and calls upon Moses to lead them towards salvation in the promised land. Contrarily, King speaks about struggle against the forces of oppression and evil, but without identifying a specific perpetrator. His Exodus embodies humankind’s journey towards a promised land of freedom and justice, not a Black journey away from bondage and white oppressors. 

Forgetting the “us versus them” narrative. 

Despite the explicit hierarchy in Exodus, with clear divisions between the oppressed and oppressors, King forgoes that segregated narrative. Instead, Egypt and the Israelites act as symbols of evil and goodness, rather than symbols of warring white and Black Americans. By removing the divide between groups of people, King tells us the Civil Rights Movement meant more than freedom for Black Americans; it meant freedom for all Americans. King argued the fight for civil rights wasn’t just a problem of race, “with Negroes set against whites.” From his eyes, it was everyone against the three forces of evil. 

 Unlike other civil rights activists and groups of the time, his message concerned moral standards, rather than racial separatism. While he fought against racial injustice, King believed we were humans first and found no gain in blaming “the white man.” He worked to instill his communities with personal responsibility and self-determination outside of racial barriers. King left a legacy showing we’re stronger together, and power lies in the collective. 

The promised land is a unified state of mind, not a physical destination.

 Rather than argue solely for Black freedom, King imagined the promised land as a place where Black Americans enjoy the benefits of citizenship and human potential, alongside their white brothers. However, the Israelites in Exodus seek salvation with a physical journey, following Moses from Egypt to God’s promised land. Infamously, Malcom X shared a similar rhetoric, known as Black nationalism. King’s goals of economic justice and freedom from oppression didn’t require a new nation-state. The promised land lives within the American psyche, but we have yet to complete the journey. 

 

King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. (CNN)

King preaches salvation for all, but God plays favorites.

Using Exodus, King speaks about God’s great plan, and how His existence will “lift men from the bondage of some evil.” King saw God bringing humanity to the promised land, where they live free as one, together as brothers. However, the original biblical tells of a less inclusive God. As He transitions from the God of all creation, to God, Lord of the Hebrews, a division forms between the Israelites and all others. It directly contradicts King’s unity agenda, which needs a spiritual power to tie humanity together. This consistent refusal to acknowledge any separation coincides with King’s overarching narrative: collective power conquers all evils. 

Familiar struggle fosters hope among King’s followers.

King continually reminded his supporters that the Civil Rights movement is against oppression, not the oppressors. This specific sermon, “The Death of Evil upon the Seashore,” acted as a rallying cry, to remind supporters why the movement existed. With the help of Exodus, King built a story that African-Americans could relate to, where they could imagine themselves. Exodus, first and foremost, tells a story of overcoming hardship and arriving in a better place. By giving his followers a story they could empathize with, it strengthened their collective identity. King’s changes to Exodus made it about opposing forces, not people at odds. In turn, it strengthened the collective and showed his supporters that there was more to their struggle. If the Israelite slaves could escape the evils of Egypt, then African-Americans could escape the evils of injustice and exploitation. They too could arrive at the promised land.

Maddie Blackwood is a freshman at Colgate University. Raised in a suburb 25 minutes outside Boston, Massachusetts, she plans to pursue a double-major in Economics and Peace & Conflict Studies.