2019 MLK Supplement

2019 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. SUPPLEMENT

Ripeness for Righteousness: Examining Dr. King’s Prophetic Struggle for Freedom and Justice

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Developing Quiet Courage Dr. Shantella Sherman Informer Special Editions Editor With the passing, January 7, of John “Hunter Bear” Gray, millions of followers of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s philosophy of non-violent resistance paid tribute to one of its most resolute examples ever captured in print.

Gray is also known by his birth name John Salter Jr. and worked closely with Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers. The Tougaloo College professor had joined a handful of his students, attacked by an angry white mob challenging segregation at a local lunch counter. Gray immediately raised their ire.

“They dumped slop on us. I was burned with cigarettes, hit and had pepper thrown in my eyes. The women weren’t struck, but had their hair pulled. All the while the air was filled with obscenities, the n-word – it was a lavish display of unbridled hatred. I have virtually never felt fear, I seem to be wired that way.

So, while I remember thinking we could get shot, and it was likely I could be a prime candidate, I wasn’t particularly worried,” Gray told The Guardian newspaper in 2015. “They cut my face with sharp brass knuckles; someone cut the back of my head with the jagged edge of a broken sugar container. There was a good deal of blood.”

Gray’s quiet courage, like that of Joan Mulholland, John Lew-

ZebraDesigns.net, Design & Layout Mable Neville, Bookkeeper Dr. Charles Vincent, Social Sightings columnist Tatiana Moten, Social Media Specialist Angie Johnson, Circulation REPORTERS Stacy Brown (Senior Writer), Sam P.K. Collins, Timothy Cox, Will Ford (Prince George’s County Writer), Jacqueline Fuller, Hamil Harris, D. Kevin McNeir, Dorothy Rowley, Brenda Siler, Sarafina Wright, James Wright PHOTOGRAPHERS John E. DeFreitas, Shevry Lassiter, Roy Lewis, Jr., Mark Mahonny

Dr. Shantella Sherman, Special Editions Editor

John Hunter Bear Gray and Tougaloo College students being attacked during a lunch counter protest in Jackson, Miss., demonstrate the quiet courage of nonviolence. (Courtesy photo)

is, Anne Moody, and millions of others, who chose nonviolence or had no weapons with which to fight, rested in the conviction that nonviolence remains the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and justice.

Of this philosophy, Dr. King noted, “[Non-violent resistance] has a way of disarming the opponent, exposing his moral defenses. It weakens his morale, and at the same time it works on his conscience, and he just doesn’t know how to handle it.”

In the face of increased racial animus, a new generation of Americans worry that the violence and aggressive racial intolerance of the past, has resurfaced.

Some young people I spoke with pointed to agitated whites yelling, grabbing, hitting, spitting at, or taunting African Americans or others of racially diverse groups and – unlike the philosophy of non-violent resistance – facing the wrath of their victims. Others cited the mocking of a Native American elder by a Catholic school teen visiting the District for a pro-life rally, the viral video showing an eagerness among his classmates to join in, rather than challenge their friend.

Can King’s quiet courage, as exhibited by members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) find renewed vigor in today’s racial

climate? Where circumstances dictate self-defense, violence may be necessary. For those who choose nonviolence, the civil rights movement implored entire courses on and labs to teach students and workers how to utilize it.

As we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King, let us remember that he steadfastly held that nonviolence was his prescribed policy.

“It is possible to struggle against an evil, unjust system, with all your might and with all your heart, and even hate that unjust system, but yet you maintain an attitude of active goodwill and understanding and even love for the perpetrators of that evil system. And this is the most misunderstood aspect of nonviolence. And this is where those who don’t want to follow the nonviolent method say a lot of bad things to those of us who talk about love. But I still go on and believe in it, because I am still convinced that it is love that makes the world go around, and somehow this kind of love can be a powerful force for social change.”

We use this supplement to examine Dr. King’s nonviolent philosophy and how righteousness, kindness, and courage informs that philosophy then and now.

Read, Learn, Grow.

Dr. S

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2019 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. SUPPLEMENT

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King’s “Dream”, A Reflection of Our Nightmare

By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon, III Special to the Informer On January 21, 2019, America will celebrate the birth, death, and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He would have turned 90 years old on January 15, 2019.

We will hear that powerful speech, “I Have A Dream.” What has troubled me over the years is how Dr. King, the visionary, prophet and revolutionary’s vision, action and ultimate sacrifice have been hijacked, compromised and relegated to being those of just a dreamer.

Dreamers are safe, docile and non-threatening. People are comfortable with dreamers. Why? To be a dreamer, you must be in a restful state, usually asleep. To cast Dr. King in the light of a dreamer allows people to be convinced that action resulting from clear vision is not necessary.

It allows the oppressed to be fooled into being patient and non-revolutionary; yours will come by-and by.

It allows Dr. King’s “Dream” – his vision – to remain just a dream.

What many fail to realize is that Dr. King was no dreamer. He was a visionary, not some abstract thinker or philosopher. He was a prophet and a true revolutionary.

As I understand it, the original title of the “I Have A Dream” speech was “Normalcy – Never Again.” That title was a real indication of what was to come. It was a clear statement that what had been accepted – what had been normal, i.e., oppression in America, would no longer be tolerated.

Dr. King the realist said, “… we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land….”

That was no dream; that was the Negro’s reality in 1963 and a clear indictment of the social conditions in America. It continues to be an unfortunate reality for too many

Dr. Wilmer J. Leon, III (Courtesy photo)

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children languishing in inner-city schools, parents losing jobs and homes, and those unjustly incarcerated in American jails and prisons.

Dr. King the strict constructionist referred to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence as a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. He stated, “It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned…. America has given the Negro people a bad check – a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.” Again, no dream in that statement; that’s a clear indictment of the African-American human condition!

Dr. King the prophet offered hope by saying, “But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.” He said this because he clearly understood the power of hope. As a minister, he clearly understood the power of faith.

Before Dr. King talks about the dream, he says that we must march ahead. “We cannot turn back…. We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” In light of the October 2014, murder of Laquan McDonald, II in Chicago, IL and the June 2018 murder of Antwon Rose, II in East Pittsburgh, PA and many others, African-Americans still find themselves victims of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality, racial profiling and Driving While Black – and sometimes Walking While Black.

The “dream” reference comes toward the end of the speech. As Dr. King was close to concluding his nine-minute delivery, the great gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson, who was standing behind him, said, “Tell them about your dream, Martin! Tell them about the dream!”

At that point, Dr. King went away from his prepared text and said, “… so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.” It’s important to understand that he spoke of the dream in the context of the horrific reality for the Negro and the poor that he had just articulated. What makes the “dream” significant is its juxtaposition against America’s reality, failures and oppression of its own citizens – their nightmare!

On August 31, 1967 Dr. King delivered The Three Evils of Society Address at the National Conference on New Politics. During this address he said, “… I suspect that we are now experiencing the coming to the sur-

face of a triple prong sickness that has been lurking within our body politic from its very beginning. That is the sickness of racism, excessive materialism and militarism. Not only is this our nation’s dilemma it is the plaque of western civilization.”

Dr. King’s words were so profound and prophetic. Today America is led by a racist president who extols the “virtues” of neo-Nazi’s, wants to ban Muslims and claims that Mexicans

are rapists. Its tax policy facilitates excessive materialism with a tax scheme that from 2001 through 2018, reduced revenue by $5.1 trillion. Sixty-five percent of the savings went to the richest fifth of Americans, with 22 percent of them going exclusively to the top 1 percent. America spends more on its military than China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, India, France, the UK and Japan combined.

Until every American’s reality re-

flects the founding principles of this great nation: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Dr. King’s “Dream” for too many in America will remain a nightmare. WI

DARKNESS CANNOT DRIVE OUT DARKNESS; ONLY LIGHT CAN DO THAT. HATE CANNOT DRIVE OUT HATE; ONLY LOVE CAN DO THAT.

The DC Lottery honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the countless African-American heroes who’ve contributed in our journey toward civil rights, equality and freedom.

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HIS DREAM NEEDS YOUR VISION. In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marched on Washington for a dream. Over 50 years later, people are still marching because of his vision. Comcast celebrates Dr. King’s legacy with a one-of-a-kind interactive digital mosaic made up of pictures and videos of people sharing their vision of his dream.

Join countless others inspired by Dr. King and share why you’re still marching at

VisionsOfKing.com

Personality rights and copyrights of Dr. King are used with the permission of The Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. Inc. Represented by Greenlight. ©2019 Comcast. All rights reserved.

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2019 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. SUPPLEMENT

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Living with Impact

Dr. King stressed often that each person had the ability to positively impact those around them. (Courtesy photo)

Aimee D. Griffin, Esq., Special to the Informer One of my favorite MLK quotes is “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” It reminds us that we are not here for ourselves. We live an interdependent life. No matter how we live our lives we impact others. Will your legacy be one that helps or hurts? We have the opportunity to shape that answer.

Around the country people honor the great Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr with days or acts of service. We follow this time with Black History Month. We spend time thinking and honoring those folks who went before us.

The way that we live our lives creates a ripple effect on those we are connected to whether it be good or bad. A woman that I often reference in my presentations and my writings was named Ms. Osceola McCarty. This was a woman who was conceived in raped, had very little schooling as she dropped out to join her grandmother working as a laundrywoman. Yet, when she died she was able to create a scholarship fund for “colored children” who didn’t have resources to go to the University of Southern Mississippi. This is an example of what can be done. This is an example of selflessness.

In an era where we see selfish narcissism in the highest office in the world we may lose sight of the golden rule. When selfishness and lies seem to have garnered a true reward we must be more steadfast than ever to be the change we want to see in the world.

I believe that the current state of affairs, with the government shut down enhancing the current situation, we must be thoughtful about how we can build the world we want to have for the people that we love.

We have the ability to impact the people that we love today or anticipating loving tomorrow. Our circle of influence can indeed go beyond our immediate circle and like Ms. McCarty we can change generations to come.

King impacted uncountable numbers of people by leaving a legacy of words that changed the world. King’s selfless sacrifice of his life is greater than most people are able or willing to give. Yet, we can change the world by impacting our com-

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munity and changing our families.

My mother passed away in 2014. She didn’t leave a great deal of wealth to speak of, yet when we celebrated her homegoing I was taken aback by the numbers of students who spoke of her great impact on their lives. But in many ways that was to be expected. I was blown away by the service professionals that spoke about how her words changed their lives. It really was comforting to my siblings and me to hear about the legacy she left. Yet, when I saw a picture of my mother in the Civil and Human Rights Museum in Atlanta with a sign at the March on Washington, I knew there was no way I would ever know the true impact of her legacy.

Let’s build a legacy that changes lives that we can never count.

WI

King impacted uncountable numbers of people by leaving a legacy of words that changed the world. King’s selfless sacrifice of his life is greater than most people are able or willing to give. Yet, we can change the world by impacting our community and changing our families.

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2019 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. SUPPLEMENT

Ripeness to do Right

Acts of Kindness Amid Shutdown Exemplify Dr. King’s Ripeness to do Right Lee Ross Special to the Informer This year, as the nation moved to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, a great many citizens entered the monthlong mark of a federal government shutdown that has threatened to unpin generations of financial and social stability.

Informer supplement writers – with respect for the emotional anxiety being faced – sought to document both the crises and amazing acts of kindness created by it.

Dr. King wrote from the Birmingham jail (1963), and later, said in a 1964 speech: “I still believe that mankind will rise up to the occasion. In spite of the darkness of the hour, in spite of the difficulties of the moment, in spite of these days of emotional tension, when the problems of the world are gigantic in extent and chaotic in detail, I still have faith in the future, and I still believe that we can build this society of brotherhood and this society of peace.”

In addition to popular crowdfunding website GoFundMe launching its own campaign to raise money for federal workers harmed by the ongoing partial government shutdown, food pantries, shelters, and restaurants have worked ceaselessly to distribute money, hot meals, groceries, and household essentials.

“Government workers, through no fault of their own, can’t afford to put diapers on their newborns,” GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon said in a statement released January 19.

“Employees of the most powerful nation in the world are being forced to work without pay and line up at diaper or food banks. It makes no sense.”

Outside of celebrity chef José Andrés’ Think Food Lab, a World Central Kitchen hamlet has developed announcing free hot meals and coffee for federal employees in need and their families. Using the hashtag #ChefsForFeds, and word of mouth, snaking lines grew from its entrance for more than a block.

Those in line spoke openly with the Informer about what it meant to suddenly face uncertainty on the eve of Dr. King’s birthday, and the many thoughtful acts of

Clare

HUD employee DeVawn Hamilton came in from PG County to pick up meals and other donations to federal workers impacted by the government shutdown. (Photo by Shantella Y. Sherman/The Washington Informer)

“In the middle of the callousness of elected officials, some very kind people – including Chef Andrés – are doing the good work that Dr. King spoke of and truly looking out for their neighbors. That has been the one thing that has kept my family from falling through the cracks.”

Jerry Eccles

‘right’ they’ve experienced.

“I have seen the very best from people – strangers who have literally seen me standing in this line and put money in my hand,” federal contractor Jerry Eccles told the Informer. “I did everything right, went to school, stayed on the straight and narrow, and I have worked hard in life for everything I have, so it feels embarrassing to have the bottom fall out through no fault of my own and not be able to find a quick remedy.”

Eccles said that his savings has depleted over the course of the shutdown as he manages both his own household and that of his 23-year-old daughter, also a contractor who had been out on maternity leave.

“In the middle of the callousness of elected officials, some very kind people – including Chef Andrés – are doing the good work that Dr. King spoke of and truly looking out for their neighbors. That has been the one thing that has kept my family from falling through the cracks.”

DeVawn Hamilton, a federal worker at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), said that because circumstances have become so financially strenuous, she journeyed from her home in Prince Georges County to receive free meals from inside the District.

“The shutdown has become serious because there appears to be no quick resolve in sight and the longer we are without work, the more uncertain we are about our incomes, our homes and our daily lives,” Hamilton said. “I would ask the people of Congress and the President to use Dr. King’s messages of love and humanity to separate the border wall issue from federal employees’ salaries. Reopen the federal government so that this misery keeps from snowballing into local businesses and communities.”

The shutdown, which began Dec. 22, has affected over 800,000 federal employees across several government agencies, including the Interior Department, Transportation Security Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security. Though these workers will likely receive

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back pay once the government reopens, those living paycheck to paycheck are struggling to make ends meet in the interim.

Government contract workers will likely never receive retroactive pay. It’s unclear how many of these workers have been impacted, though estimates range from hundreds of thousands to millions.

U.S. Treasury Department employee Yarnell Alston told the Informer that Dr. King’s philosophy of human progress based on helping one another could not be more poignant at this moment in

history. The 40-year-old Northwest resident said he has received cash, gas cards, and grocery store gift cards from strangers who saw him in pantry lines.

“Dr. King said that time was often used destructively by people of ill will – which in my opinion is Donald Trump. The more time it takes for us to get back to work, the more likely they are to give in to his push for an unjust border wall,” Alston said. “Human progress comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to work to be co-workers with God, were King’s words and I am grateful that many are doing that work to help me.” WI

“I still believe that mankind will rise up to the occasion. In spite of the darkness of the hour, in spite of the difficulties of the moment, in spite of these days of emotional tension, when the problems of the world are gigantic in extent and chaotic in detail, I still have faith in the future, and I still believe that we can build this society of brotherhood and this society of peace.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Lines of furloughed federal employees snake downtown D.C. for blocks.

Many businesses are exhibiting the kindness of Dr. King to federal employees, offering meals, money, and sundries. (Photos by Shantella Y. Sherman/The Washington Informer

“ THE TIME IS ALWAYS RIGHT

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WHAT IS RIGHT “ -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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At Safeway, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to make their dreams a reality. That is why we are proud to honor and celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a true American hero.

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The Ballou Senior High School Marching Band and Majestic’s perform in the MLK Day Peace Walk and Parade held in Southeast on Monday, Jan. 21.

(Courtesy of Maurice G. Fitzgerald/WI Charities) KING PARADE from Page 1

community activist walked in a joyful procession along MLK Avenue and Good Hope Road to the St. Elizabeths campus, now a hub for community events. “in my view, Dr. King’s birthday is a day of reflection and commitment,” said D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson. “Reflect on what we have and have not achieved and a commitment to better.”

Former D.C. first lady Cora Masters Barry, widow of D.C. political icon Marion S. Barry, also took part in the parade with youths from the Southeast Tennis and Learning

Center.

“Marion Barry never missed this parade cause it was about empowerment dignity and making sure our people had a fair shot,” she said.

Most of the march’s participants made a stop at the reviewing stand and were interviewed by Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes and WJLA-TV (Channel 7) reporter Sam Ford, the parade’s hosts. At the event’s end, participants gathered at the renovated old chapel at St. Elizabeths, where volunteers from Martha’s Table distributed bags of fruits and vegetables.

One volunteer said a special effort

was made to help furloughed federal workers affected by the ongoing government shutdown.

Even amid the bitter cold, the sun shone bright and smiles were aplenty on Martin Luther King Avenue.

“They were talking about canceling the parade because it was so cold, but Dr. King would have done it for us,” said D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham.

The event was preceded by the MLK Breakfast at the Mayflower Hotel in Northwest, which was sponsored by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN) and featured King’s son Martin Luther King III, Bowser, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Biden used his speech to condemn hate groups that he said have been revitalized because of the rhetoric President Trump continues to use.

“Let us move on to make America what it ought to be and we know what it ought to be,” Biden said.

“We have learned in the last two years that it doesn’t take much to awaken hate.”

Biden and Bloomberg are contemplating joining a growing field

Religious Service Honors Two Civil Rights Leaders Jewish, Black Choirs Praise MLK Observance

By Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer On Friday, Jan. 18, Sixth and I Historic Synagogue was the site for the 15th annual MLK Shabbat. The location was the former site of Turner Memorial AME, the co-convener since this service began.

Selerya Moore, a lifetime member of Turner Memorial AME, helped to open the service by telling the congregation about the 50-year history of Turner Memorial, formerly located where Sixth & I now exists. She pointed out some of the significant areas in the sanctuary.

“We had five choirs,” Moore said as she pointed out where each choir sat. “There were great things going on in this church.”

Shabbat is a Jewish service that usually begins at sundown on Friday. The MLK Shabbat honors the civil rights work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.

The strong friendship between the two leaders grew from their shared vision about equality for all.

This year’s MLK Shabbat con-

sisted of sermons from Rabbi Shira Stutman, senior rabbi at Sixth & I and Rev. Dr. D. K. Kearney, pastor at Turner Memorial. Choirs from Sixth & I and Turner Memorial sang songs of faith that were composed or arranged by Marty Austin Lamar. Lamar is director of music and creative arts at Metropolitan AME Church and an artist-in-residence at Sixth & I. Stutman’s, whose sermon focused on anti-Semitism, admitted avoiding the topic for many years but felt compelled to talk about it because of the current political climate in America.

“Many of us brush off anti-Semitic comments,” Stutman said, specifically referring to inadvertently offensive comments and failed attempts at humor that people often make. “I acknowledged that I am a part of the privileged class and I can no longer brush off those comments.”

Kearney said the joint Shabbat is an example of how to fight many of society’s adversities.

“We can’t let what is happening down the street keep us from going forward,” Kearney said, referring to the current White House administration.

The service closed with the con-

A partial group of the Martin Luther King Day parade committee during a photoop after a job WELL DONE!! (Courtesy of Maurice G. Fitzgerald/WI Charities)

The go-go band EU entertains the crowd gathered near the viewing stage in frigid temperatures. (Courtesy of Maurice G. Fitzgerald/WI Charities)

of candidates for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination that includes Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.), who used the King holiday to announce her bid.

Bowser used her speech to remind people about the plight of thousands of federal workers waiting to go back to work as the shutdown entered its fifth week.

“We have a lot of Americans who are focused on how we get our country back on track,” the mayor said. “We have many people forced to work without pay, people locked out of their work and real Americans experiencing hardships.”

Trump and Vice President Mike Pence made an unannounced visit

to the MLK Memorial less than an hour after Martin Luther King III visited his father’s monument. The administration was roundly criticized for not scheduling a stop at the memorial beforehand.

During the NAN breakfast, King also chided Pence for comments the vice president made comparing his father to Trump.

“This is a challenging year for our nation, especially when you have the vice president comparing the current president to my dad,” King said. “Dad built bridges and brought people together — this administration is bringing about division and dividing more than anything else.” WI

Marty Austin Lamar, director of music and creative arts at Metropolitan AME Church and an artist-in-residence at Sixth & I, directs the combined Turner Memorial AME Church and Sixth & I choirs during the MLK Shabbat at Sixth & I on Jan. 18. (Brenda Siler/The Washington Informer

gregation holding hands while singing “We Shall Overcome.”

Following the service, Sixth & I hosted a reception where congregants learned about social justice work in the D.C. area from 12 local organizations. On Sunday, Jan. 20, at their Hyattsville, Md., location, Turner Memorial hosted Sixth & I for morning worship to continue the focus on the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. WI

Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., pastor emeritus at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Ill., preached at Howard University’s Andrew Rankin Chapel at the worship service for the beginning of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday observance. Rev. Wright’s sermon theme was, “No More Masks.”

Now in a wheelchair after a stroke in 2016, Rev. Wright was assisted by his wife Ramah Reed Wright. (From left): Glenn Vaulx, juniormajoring in Architectureat Howard University, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Hamah Reed Wright, Rev. Dr. Bernard Richardson, dean of Rankin Chapel, Rev. Cecil A. Duffie, assistant dean of Religious Life at Rankin Chapel, Kristen Gayle, graduate assistant at Rankin Chapel and Nisa Muhammed, assistant dean of Religious Life.

January 20, 2019 at Howard University-Rankin Chapel. (Brenda C. Siler/The Washington Informer)

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National Action Network Annual MLK Breakfast Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (left) introduced by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (bottom right) delivered a unifying speech after accepting the MLK Day Lifetime of Excellence in Public Service Award during Rev. Al Sharpton’s (bottom left) National Action Network annual MLK Breakfast attended by Martin Luther King III and family, held at the Mayflower Hotel in Northwest on Monday, Jan. 22. Other awardees included Sherrilyn Ifill for Excellence in Public Policy, Everett Kelly for Labor Leader of the Year, and Nate Tinbite who received the Youth Award. (Photos Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)

Martin Luther King III and family laid one of three wreaths at the foot of the MLK Memorial in Southwest before being quickly rushed away when the entire area was closed off due to a pretentious wreath laying by Pence and Trump. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)

Let Freedom Ring! the annual show honoring the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a star-studded event featuring multi-award winners Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell who performed specially selected songs bringing realism to the words of Dr. King. After a few individual sets, the two ended the evening with the song “Wheels of a Dream” their duet from “Ragtime.”

Nolan Williams, Jr., was the music director for the program held at the Kennedy Center on Monday, Jan. 21, a collaboration between the Kennedy Center and Georgetown University. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)

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Shiloh Baptist Holds Annual MLK Prayer Breakfast

By Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer From the Shiloh Baptist Church in northwest D.C. to Martin Luther King Avenue in Southeast, the 90th birthday of the slain civil rights leader was celebrated across Washington in a variety of ways as a new generation of people faces their own set of racial barriers and daunting challenges.

And yet, in 2019, while many of the causes that King preached and died for have been challenged

by President Donald Trump and conservatives on Capitol Hill, African Americans still found hope through songs, concerts, ecumenical programs and parades held across the city to commemorate King’s legacy.

“I have a dream that one day, my four little children will not be judged by the color of their skin, but [by] the content of their character,” said Crescent R. Holmes, a senior debutante at Shiloh, who offered reflections of King’s speech during the church’s 28th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Prayer Breakfast on Saturday.

The event, which drew several hundred people, took place in the fellowship hall of a church located at 9th and P streets, where on Oct. 9, 1960, King spoke during the congregation’s annual Men’s Day program under the leadership of Pastor Harrison and the church was filled families who lived nearby in tall brownstones in the Shaw community.

Rev. Eddie S. Glaude Jr., a professor and chair of the De-

Rev. Thomas Bowen, Criminal Justice Activist Desmond Meade and Princeton Professor Eddie Glaude at Shiloh Baptist Church Breakfast (H. Harris/The Washington Informer)

partment of Religion and African American studies at Princeton University, said during Saturday’s breakfast that African Americans are still dealing with the same issues that King dealt with in the 1960s.

“King’s murder ripped the fabric of common concerns and was the latest and perhaps the most visibly painful and mournful example of dead bodies piling up right in front of Black people,” Glaude said. “Stokely Carmichael put it succinctly: when White America killed Dr. King, it declared war on us. It seems so funny how people can walk so quickly past our dead.”

While Glaude spoke outside Shiloh, young Whites walked their dogs past the church and passed a historical landmark that showed an image of a class of Sunday School children outside the old Shiloh church in 1919.

Today, 100 years later, most of

The Washington Inter-Alumni Council (WAIC) of UNCF held its 38th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration on January 21.

WAIC consists of local area alumni groups from the 37 UNCF member institutions. The breakfast event included a panel discussion focused on preparing students for college success and beyond. Panelists included (from left): Moderator Ashlei Stevens, media relations professional and commentator for “Fatal Attraction” on TVOne, Charlene M. Dukes, Ph.D., president of Prince Georges Community College, Sekou Biddle, vice president of K-12 Advocacy at UNCF and Aminta H. Breaux, Ph.D., president of Bowie State University. January 21, at The Hotel at the University of Maryland (Brenda C. Siler/The Washington Informer)

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2019 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. SUPPLEMENT

the people attending the prayer breakfast were senior citizens and yet there was still a fire to fulfill King’s dream.

“The importance of this event is not just commemorate Dr. King and his legacy,” said John Hale III, chair of the committee that planned the breakfast. “It is about the relevance of social justice and civil rights that has to be reclaimed in every generation.

It brings together that mission, God’s purpose and God’s power, so we can teach from one generation to the next.”

Charles “Duke” Smith, a Shiloh member and retired Navy commander: “This is the 28th time we have had this event at Shiloh and we elevate and keep Dr. King’s legacy and memory in front of us because if we don’t, then who will?

He connects to all of us back to those who made life better for all of us who live today, especially for people of color.”

One person recognized during the breakfast was Desmond Meade of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, who led the fight to get voting rights restored to ex-offenders in the state.

“When you talk about restoring civil rights to 1.4 million people in Florida, this is nothing but the continuation of the work that Dr. King was doing,” Meade said.

Rev. Catherine Bego, the former head of the DC Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration, said if King was alive, he would do more than hold church events.

“Dr. King would be leading us in a church without walls because our ministry is not in bricks and mortar, our ministry is in the street with the hopeless, the homeless and the helpless,” Bego said. WI

Jaunts

An Historical Journey to The King Center in Atlanta Kenshi Lewis Special to the Informer One of the must-see locations of the modern Civil Rights Movement is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home, the church where he delivered his first sermon, one of the South’s first desegregated firehouses and an elaborate visitor’s center making up the MLK Historic Park in Atlanta.

Established in 1968 by Mrs. Coretta Scott King, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (“The King Center”) has been a global destination, resource center and community institution for over a quarter century. Nearly a million people each year make pilgrimage to the National Historic Site to learn, be inspired and pay their respects to Dr. King’s legacy.

Both a traditional memorial and programmatic nonprofit, the King Center was envisioned by its founder to be “no dead monument, but a living memorial filled with all the vitality that was his, a center of human endeavor, committed to the causes for which he lived and died.” That vision was carried out through educational and community programs until Mrs. King’s retirement in the mid-1990’s, and today it’s being revitalized.

“The National Park Service’s sites are the historical look into the man,” Dr. Bernice King, the youngest of King’s daughters and CEO of the Center said in an interview with Fox News. “The holiday and the work that we do at the King Center are about the now and going forward. And through all of the unconditional love and examples of forgiveness that we had around us, as children, we were able to weather the storm.”

Visitors to the King Center witness an amazing and innovative set of exhibits – both interactive and traditional. Great for all ages, the exhibits showcase the courageous actions of ordinary people and inspire viewers to see themselves walking in similar shoes.

“My sons and daughter loved the fact that they could walk among the life-sized wax marchers in one portion of the Center, as if a part of that history,” Maggie Jacobs, a D.C. resident who visited the King Center with her family recently told the Informer.

(Top Left) Children walk through interactive marchers at The King Center in Atlanta (Top Right) One exhibit at the King Center showcases the many signs utilized during civil rights marches.

(Middle Left) Wax marchers at the King Center in Atlanta (Middle Right) The bars to the cell King was housed in when he penned The Letter from the Birmingham Jail make up one of the exhibitions at the King Center.

(Bottom Left) Shoes worn by civil rights marchers were collected and are showcased at the King Center.

(Bottom Right) The memorial for Coretta Scott King and Dr. King are part of the King Park property.

Photos by Shantella Y. Sherman

“It makes them a part of something that they have only ever seen in books or film.”

Bars from the cell in which King penned The Letter from the Birmingham Jail are a portion of another exhibit that invites visitors to imagine being arrested to change history.

“It is quite a powerful experience and one that every American should undertake. There is so much about Dr. King that we still haven’t considered fully, and this is the perfect place to rethink his legacy,” Jacobs said.

Plans are under way for a state-of-the-art renovation to the

King Center that will include the preservation and digitization one-of-a-kind archival material, the launch of a digital strategy and conference series, and the development of new programs and partnerships that further Dr. King’s work in sustainable, measurable ways worldwide.

Despite areas of the park being shuttered since Dec. 22, when the government shut down over border wall funding, The King Center, remained open through an $83,500 grant from the Delta Airlines Foundation and recreation fees collected by the National Park Service. WI

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The Endurance of Faith

Dr. King, Howard Thurman, and the Fight of the Disinherited

By Sophia Sparks with Shantella Sherman Special to the Informer A few years ago, Congressman Bobby Rush hosted a panel, “The Black Church in the 21st Century: Victorious, Vigilant, Viable?” at a Congressional Black Caucus function during which he asked faith leaders what had changed in the relationship between the Black Church (as an institution) and America’s political and social arenas. The panel assembled noted that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and most grassroots and college organizations leading the charge for human rights maintained firm anchoring in the church. They also steadfastly pointed to theologian and professor Howard Thurman as pivotal in the philosophy of nonviolence that shaped modern civil rights movements.

Born in 1899, Thurman was 30 years older than King, and through instruction and sermons he held at both Howard and Boston University, influenced intellectually and spiritually an entire generation of human rights organizers. King was among them.

King is reported to have carried his own well-worn copy of Thurman’s celebrated work, Jesus and the Disinherited, in his pocket during the 381-day Montgomery bus boycott.

In many ways, the question of spiritual viability amid racial crisis, went to the heart of King’s ripeness to do right, and Thurman’s sermon series Jesus and the Disinherited. Each spoke of fear and a spiritual element to overcome it.

Thurman wrote, “You must abandon your fear of each other and fear only God. You must not indulge in any deception and dishonesty, even to save your lives…”

Parallels could easily be drawn between Thurman’s words and Rush’s discussion on the church as a sustainer – a sort of power source from which fear was drained and faith invigorated.

“I’ve been both a [Black] Panther and a preacher and this is the only institution in the land that we still have that is authentically ours and that is still powerful,” Rush said. “It was the Church as an institution, and our faith in the Church, as its body, that helped us face down the inhumanity that

characterized our citizenship.”

But with God and the Church removed from public spaces, including schools, many churchgoers have disconnected from the church in ways that make facing fears of violence, corruption, and the traps of being among the disinherited, feel impossible to surmount. The fear of being harmed, too, becomes all-encompassing, threatening the liberty of the disinherited.

Thurman wrote, “Even within the disinherited group itself artificial and exaggerated emphasis upon not being killed tends to cheapen life. That is to say, the fact that the lives of the disinherited are lightly held by the dominant group tends to create the same attitude among them toward each other.”

Thurman, ironically, spoke of random acts of violence against Blacks as well as police brutality in his work, Jesus and the Disinherited, written more than 60

years ago. He placed fear and hatred as the core emotions behind such violence. But according to Thurman, Christian leaders had been most silent on issues of violence, which then, like now, helped inculcate terroristic acts against Blacks within a culture that despised their presence in the first place.

“Christianity has been almost sentimental in its effort to deal with hatred in human life. It has sought to get rid of hatred by preachments, my moralizing, by platitudinous judgments. It has hesitated to analyze the basis of hatred and to evaluate it in terms of its possible significance in the lives of the people possessed by it.

This reluctance to examine hatred has taken on the character of superstition…There is a conspiracy of silence about hatred, its function and its meaning,” he wrote.

Even international religious leaders like Pope Francis have suggested that Dr. King’s push

for civility and Christ-like kindness must inform both the fight for equality and the leaders tasked with securing it.

“To use a telling phrase of the Reverend Martin Luther King, we can say that we have defaulted on a promissory note and now is (Above) Dr. King found that the dispossessed often had immeasurable faith and used it to fight back the fear that often swallowed others. (Courtesy photo) Various religious denominations rallied around the cause of fighting inhumanity through love, patience, and nonviolent resistance.

(Courtesy photo) (Below) Dr. Howard Thurman impacted several generations of grassroots activists made up of students, laborers, and everyday people. (Courtesy photo)

the time to honor it. We know by faith that “the Creator does not abandon us; he never forsakes his loving plan or repents of having created us. Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home,” Pope Francis said during a visit to the U.S. For American University student Graca Mbuti, 23, reconciling King’s nonviolence philosophy with her faith and the challenges of racial intolerance running through the nation, seems overwhelming.

“God’s way is not our way and when you are suffering at the hands of unscrupulous leaders – people who close public housing and schools, displace the poor and working class, and cut our access to well-being, you want God to step in right away and do something,” said Mbuti, who immigrated from Harare, Zimbabwe 15 years ago. A theology student, she is familiar with Thurman’s visionary theology as well. “I have seen plenty of suffering at the hands of evil men in high places, but there is no higher authority than God. That is one thing that I wholeheartedly embrace in Thurman’s work, the idea that because I am in God’s work, I need not fear man’s scorn.”

Far from being the lament of the weak or powerless, Thurman’s and King’s philosophies of power in nonviolence among the dispossessed lead Indian activist Mahatma Gandhi to confide in Thurman years ago that “it may be through the Negroes that the unadulterated message of nonviolence will be delivered to the world.”

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THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2019 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. SUPPLEMENT

Recommended Books By and About Dr. King

By Lee Ross, Special to the Informer

and student who chafed under and eventually rebelled against segregation; the dedicated young minister who continually questioned the depths of his faith and the limits of his wisdom; the loving husband and father who sought to balance his family’s needs with those of a growing, nationwide movement; and the reflective, world-famous leader who was fired by a vision of equality for people everywhere.

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. Written in his own words, this history-making autobiography is Martin Luther King: the mild-mannered, inquisitive child

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? CHAOS OR COMMUNITY In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., isolated himself from the demands of the civil rights movement, rented a house in Jamaica with no telephone, and labored over his final manuscript.

In this important work, which

America’s future, including the need for better jobs, higher wages, decent housing, and quality education.

has been unavailable for more than ten years, we find King’s acute analysis of American race relations and the state of the movement after a decade of civil rights efforts. King lays out his thoughts, plans, and dreams for

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matically in five parts, the collection includes nineteen selections and is introduced by award-winning author Walter Dean Myers.

A GIFT OF LOVE: SERMONS FROM STRENGTH TO LOVE AND OTHER PREACHINGS As Dr. King prepared for the Birmingham campaign in early 1963, he drafted the final sermons for Strength to Love, a volume of his best-known homilies.

King had begun working on the sermons during a fortnight in jail in July 1962. Having been arrested for holding a prayer vigil outside Albany City Hall, King and Ralph Abernathy shared a jail cell for fifteen days that was, according to King, ‘‘dirty, filthy, and illequipped’’ and “the worse I have ever seen.” While behind bars, he spent uninterrupted time preparing the drafts for classic sermons such as “Loving Your Enemies,” “Love in Action,” and “Shattered Dreams,” and continued to work on the volume after his release of love as a social and political force for change.

A TIME TO BREAK SILENCE: THE ESSENTIAL WORKS OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. FOR STUDENTS The first collection of King’s essential writings for high school students and young people, “A Time to Break Silence” presents Martin Luther King, Jr.’s most important writings and speeches--carefully selected by teachers across a variety of disciplines--in an accessible and user-friendly volume. Now, for the first time, teachers and students will be able to access Dr. King’s writings not only electronically but in standalone book form. Arranged the-

THE ESSENTIAL MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: “I HAVEA DREAM” AND OTHER GREAT WRITINGS The ultimate collection of Dr. King’s most inspirational and transformative speeches and sermons, accessibly available for the first time as an ebook. Here, in Dr. King’s own words, are writings that reveal an intellectual struggle and growth as fierce and alive as any chronicle of his political life could possibly be.

Included amongst the twenty selections are Dr. King’s most influential and persuasive works such as “I Have a Dream” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” but also the essay “Pilgrimage to Nonviolence,” and his last sermon “I See the Promised Land,” preached the day before he was assassinated.

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THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2019 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. SUPPLEMENT

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.”

– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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