The Keys Are Being Passed: Race, Law, Religion and the Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement

The Keys Are Being Passed celebrates the 50th anniversary of the American Civil Rights Movement through the interdisciplinary lens of law and religion. It draws a parallel between how Jesus, in Matthew 16, built upon Jewish tradition by passing the keys of responsibility to the apostle Peter to establish Jesus’ legacy in the Christian church. Just as Jesus gave the keys of legacy and responsibility to Peter, the interfaith leaders of the Movement are similarly passing on the keys of legacy and responsibility and challenging the current generation to accept them. The Keys Are Being Passed honors the Movement’s interconnected legacy of law and religion, while also challenging its readers to accept their keys of responsibility in contemporary areas like voting rights, environmental justice, and education reform. The choice is yours. Will you accept your keys?