MLK Jr., Liberalism and Richard Rorty’s Prediction

Reverend Eugene F. Rivers III is a Pentecostal minister, community activist, and renowned speaker. A former gang member, Reverend Rivers is recognized as one of the most effective crusaders against gang violence.  In 1984, he founded Azusa Christian Community in Boston’s inner-city Dorchester neighborhood.  As president of the National Ten Point Leadership Foundation, he worked to build new grassroots leadership in forty of the worst inner-city neighborhoods in America.  In addition to youth activism, Reverend Rivers has worked on community development, faith-based initiatives, and domestic and foreign policy issues. He advised both Bush Administrations and the Clinton Administration on their faith-based initiatives and on foreign policy regarding the AIDS crisis in Africa. Rivers has appeared on CNN’s Hardball, NBC’s Meet the Press, PBS’s Charlie Rose, BET’s Lead Story, and on National Public Radio.  He has been featured or provided commentary in numerous publications such as Newsweek, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Herald, Christianity Today, and Sojourners. He has also written numerous essays, including “On the Responsibility of Intellectuals in an Age of Crack,” “Beyond the Nationalism of Fools: A Manifesto for a New Black Movement,” and “Black Churches and the Challenge of U.S. Foreign and Development Policy.” Rivers was educated at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and at Harvard University.