Cool connection to use for the Abolitionist movement etc. Tracing English efforts to abolish slavery, the story of Amazing Grace and Obama remarks in Charleston June of 2015. Also nice opportunity to illustrate the many hats our chief executive wears…. In this case chief healer.
John Newton (1725- 1807) was an Anglican clergyman in England and the founder of the evangelical Clapham Sect. He started as an English sailor, in the Royal Navy for a period, and later a captain of slave ships. He became ordained as an evangelical Anglican cleric, served Olney, Buckinghamshire for two decades, and also wrote hymns, known for "Amazing Grace" and "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken".
William Wilberforce (1759 – 1833) was an English politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to eradicate the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming an independent Member of Parliament (MP) for Yorkshire (1784–1812). In 1785, he became an Evangelical Christian, which resulted in major changes to his lifestyle and a lifelong concern for reform.
Amazing Grace Movie Trailer (William Wilberforce story)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6Cv5P9H9qU
Obama Sings 'Amazing Grace' During Pinckney Eulogy | msnbc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S58k3ZXRJJc&feature=emb_logo