Texas NAACP and Faith Leaders Launch“Building The Beloved Community”Initiative to Reclaim Civic Dialogue and Protect Dignity Across Texas Sept. 22, 2025

Friends:

So glad to see this happening. And how timely! 

On the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe calls on all of us to help build Dr. King’s Beloved Community. This initiative reminds us that freedom is a moral commitment to one another. It’s inspiring to see LULAC, faith leaders, and community partners uniting to restore dignity, dialogue, and hope across Texas.

-Angela Valenzuela 

Texas NAACP and Faith Leaders Launch“Building The Beloved Community”Initiative To Reclaim Civic Dialogue And Protect Dignity Across Texas

Press Statement

NAACP Houston Branch Statement

September 22, 2025

Texas NAACP and Faith Leaders Launch “Building the Beloved

Community” Initiative to Reclaim Civic Dialogue and Protect Dignity Across Texas

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