“Burden,” a powerful new film about a former KKK member whose life was transformed after forming a friendship with a black preacher he once planned to assassinate, will soon hit the big screen.
Releasing in select theaters Feb. 28, “Burden” follows the true story of Michael Eugene Burden Jr., who in 1996 opened the Redneck Shop and Klan Museum in Laurens, South Carolina, displaying KKK paraphernalia, including white-hooded Klan uniforms and photographs of lynchings.
However, after meeting a woman who persuades him to leave the KKK, Burden renounces his Klan membership and sells his store to the Rev. David E. Kennedy, a black pastor whose own uncle was lynched by the KKK.
Burden’s decision to sell his store infuriates Klan members, who seek vengeance. Because the KKK holds tremendous power over the small town, Burden soon finds himself jobless and penniless.
Despite his own misgivings, Reverend Kennedy, the pastor of New Beginnings Church, decides to shelter Burden, his girlfriend, and her son. In doing so, the pastor and community members set aside their own misgivings in hopes of teaching the former Klan member about love and acceptance. Thanks to the pastor’s kindness, compassion, and grace, Burden embraces Christianity and is baptized.
A trailer for the forthcoming film shows the moment Reverend Kennedy embraces Burden, telling skeptical community members, “I view him as a brother in Christ.”
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SOURCE: Christian Post, Leah MarieAnn Klett
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