Texas NAACP and Faith Leaders Launch “Building the Beloved Community” Initiative to Reclaim Civic Dialogue and Protect Dignity Across Texas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 22, 2025 

On Sept. 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the venerated Emancipation Proclamation. Today, 163 years later, our state still in many ways is debating the dignities, humanity and freedoms conferred to People of Color by that document. 

“We have fractured into communities that see this nation as us against those people. And social media, some political operatives, extremists and others have exploited those fissures to the point where civic dialogue, respect, and dignity are on the decline. While violence, indifference, race-baiting, and hopelessness are on the rise,” said Gary Bledsoe, President of the Texas NAACP. 

“Before he died 57 years ago, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. challenged us to be part of Building the Beloved Community. That is why we are launching this initiative to reclaim the moral high ground.” 

“We’ve worked on putting different pieces in place for more than a year, but we are now asking other people who want to be part of this initiative to join with us at every level.” 

“This is our follow-up to Dr. King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Bledsoe said. 

Specifically, The Texas NAACP is calling on our partners to join with the Texas NAACP and its units to create roundtables across Texas to engage in civic dialogue and take other steps to create a better path forward for all Texans. 

“I am honored to represent Pastors for Texas Children in supporting this initiative by our friends in the Texas NAACP to create a conversation of mutual respect and dialogue to address the challenges faced by our communities with the increase in incidents of violence and verbal abuse in our classrooms and communities, said the Rev. Dr. Larry Bethune, Senior Pastor Emeritus of the University Baptist Church, Austin. 

“We believe every Texas student should be treated with dignity and respect and should feel safe in his or her school and wider community. We believe schools should provide and protect an environment where Texas youth can learn the value of respectful civil discourse where their voices are heard and their concerns honored. Every person is precious in God’s eyes, no matter their background. 

“We hope these conversations will strengthen the frayed fabric of our wider communities and rekindle the dream of our forebears for a nation united by our democratic ideals of listening to one another and living as “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.” Therefore, Pastors for Texas Children endorses this program of community building conversations in our communities and congregations.” 

Texas LULAC General Counsel, Gloria Leal said, “LULAC, the largest and oldest Hispanic advocacy group in the United States, joins the NAACP in support of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution , a cornerstone of our democracy protecting free speech, belief and association. LULAC joins the NAACP in opposing any form of violence which impinges on Firm Amendment rights , in the face of retaliation and other forceful efforts aimed at suppression and imposition of --ideological conformity.” 

Theme and mission: The Texas NAACP along with faith leaders and other partners are announcing an initiative to continue the work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King in Building a Beloved Community. 

We want round tables in each community to help address issues of violence and to provide safe spaces for dialogue on issues in our communities. We hold true to the desire of Dr. King to seek to achieve a Beloved Community. In order to facilitate discussions we are providing the following documents for our Texas NAACP units and other partners to consider for use in their round table discussions: (a) Reimagining Public Safety — Moving to Safe, Healthy, and Hopeful Communities (Travis County); (b) Public Safety Suggestions Document for College Campuses (Texas NAACP); and (c) Proposed Policy on K-12 Bullying (written from legislation by Senator Menendez, Rep. Ron Reynolds and Rep. Senfronia Thompson, IDRA and Texas and Lubbock NAACP Branch). 

Bledsoe said, it falls to people of good will to meet the challenges we face and not expect or wait for leaders to rescue us. And that means we must come together and work together to create communications that respect the dignity and humanity of all people. This means reaching out to people across the political spectrum, people of all faiths, and building coalitions with local entities for a better way forward toward that Beloved Community Dr. King spoke of. It doesn’t mean that we stop fighting for justice and civil rights, but it means we also look for common ground. Though there may be fundamental political and even religious issues that may sometimes divide us, we know that people of good will respect all people and believe that all of us, without regard to race, creed, color, political affiliation, faith or religious beliefs, be treated with dignity. 

Our partners: While the Texas NAACP is leading this work, we are proud that already we have a large and diverse group of religious. 

Gary L. Bledsoe, President 
Texas State Conference of NAACP Units