Celebrating the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
Posted by on January 16, 2006 at 11:06 PM
Words would fail if I attempted to describe the atmosphere in St. Stephen's Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri on the evening of the Martin Luther King holiday. I entered having little idea what to expect, and left having witnessed a diverse crowd come together in prayer, song, and celebration without regard for the color of eachother's skin, but because of the content of their character and a message of unity.
The service had barely started when the gentleman pictured below stepped up to the microphone, thanked his mother and grandmother, and began signing. And when I say sing, I mean sing ... a sound you can tell was produced with the help of every last bone in his body.
Video: Opening Song of Service (.wmv)
The audience was packed, there were several overflow rooms set up inside the church where members of the congregation sat and watched on closed-circuit televisions. The service itself was a combination of inspirational music, speeches by clergy and politicians (Democrats and Republicans alike), and a 45 minute sermon built around the theme of "unity in the community." Governor Dean spoke about how it might be discouraging at times today, but we have no right to get down, only the right to keep fighting--Dr. King spent many days in jail, African-Americans were attacked by dogs and firehoses, people in his own community said he was moving to fast, but he never gave up.
Video: Congressman Emanuel Cleaver Introduces Governor Dean (.wmv)
Video: Governor Dean Speaking (.wmv)
For me, the music was undoubtedly the highlight of the evening -- and the different types of music played and sung were as diverse as the audience itself. From a children's choir, the SCLC Community Choir, a Korean church choir, a young man wowing the audience on his saxophone, and the former leader of the St. Stephen's Baptist Choir taking us back before "all this electronic music" started playing in the church, with some old spiritual-type songs made famous during the civil rights movement.
I am back at the hotel now after not knowing what to expect when I took off this morning for Kansas City. And although we don't see it all the time from our elected officials in Washington, D.C., what I saw tonight gives me hope that Dr. King's dream lives on, and there are a tremendous amount of people of all colors and creeds working to see that dream become a reality.
Photo: Congregation
Photo: Sermon by Dr. Myron McCoy
Photo: Korean Church Choir
Comments - 9 »
Comments - 9 «
Dear Tim,
Do you know what the Democratic Party's official position is regarding the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. I'd like to see this thing overturned and the power of issueing money given back to the Government that is elected by the People. Do you have any thoughts on this issue and this Act. Please post any statements the Democratic National Party has regarding the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. Poverty must and can be overcome!
Posted by Orangutan on January 17, 2006 at 12:36 AM
With all the acknowledgment in the Media in reverence to this day, I must say that as an African American, I think the Democratic Party is the only one that I see as genuine in their honor of Dr. Martin Luther King. It may be because I know that the Democrats strive to achieve his dream all year through and do not wait till January 15, 2006 to show that honor and respect unlike the Republicans. I am grateful to belong to such a party .I am very proud of the Democratic Party and today they reminded me why. Thank you
Posted by FreedomOfSpeech on January 17, 2006 at 12:47 AM
The Democrats need to fight intolerance with tolerance. The Republican party of the 1800's is dead. It has been replaced by money hungry, intoleranct people who care nothing of anyone but themselves.
To be a Democrat is to truly follow the scriptures. Give to the poor, help those in need, even if it means suffering a little ourselves. We need a government with a heart once again. One that truly cares for all its citizens.
Posted by Vigla on January 17, 2006 at 08:50 AM
It's very important to recognize that Dr. Martin Luther King was not able to celebrate his birthday because of a plot by FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover, which Geraldo Riveria had disclosed several years ago.
When not cross dressing in womens's clothes, Hoover was conspiring to politically destroy Dr. Martin Luther King to falsely align him with Communism or political scandal such as a sex scandal. When it became known to the FBI that James Earl Ray could present a serious safety danger to Dr. King, the FBI conspired to keep Dr. King out of a far safer hotel and in the small Lorraine Motel instead where security would be terrible and likelyhood of a successful assassination was very high. The FBI had no connection to Ray himself, but knew he intended to murder King, so made it far more likely to happen by making sure he was in a dangerous motel where the danger level was high.
Also the FBI drug it's feet on murder investigations against the KKK and others for many years of civil rights workers, while going after crime family organizations instead which was a high priority of Attorney Generals Robert Kennedy and Ramsey Clark.
The murder of many civil rights workers achieved the goals of the right wing J. Edgar Hoover to eliminate "leftist" troublemakers. Ignoring violence against civil rights workers achieved what the FBI could not, their elimination as a political force involved in "civil unrest".
And it was both the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations that were wary of Dr. King, and both allowed the FBI somewhat of a green light to pursue investigations of him.
It is easy now for some to embrace Dr. King, but this is often plitical revisionism. Both the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations were not very good friends of Dr. King in the 1960's, and far too little FBI oversight allowed the murder of King to happen according to the evidence of Geraldo Riveria. This lesson should raise concerns over the wiretap issues involving Mr. Bush. This power over Americans can be prone to very serious abuse.
PROGRESSIVE VALUES
Posted by PaulHooson on January 17, 2006 at 08:56 AM
I support your spiritual call towards compassion for the poor by the Democratic Party, Vigla.
PROGRESSIVE VALUES
Posted by PaulHooson on January 17, 2006 at 09:00 AM
Hey Freedom,
I was looking through those pictures on the front, looking for Ken Melhman of the RNC!
ooops, no sight of a Republican anywhwere.
You're right. This IS what the Democratic Party is about. I think they lost their way for a little while, when the taste of power got in their mouths, but they have come back home to what it means to be a Liberal, with Howard.
The failure of Katrina showed once and for all what this current administration is all about.
If those first pictures coming out of New Orleans stadium had been White men dressed in suits, there is no one able to say that every effort would have been made to get in there and get them out. The fact that no one there was a Bush Pioneer, played a big part in lack of response for a week.
Posted by PamB on January 17, 2006 at 09:01 AM
"The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding. It seeks to annihilate rather than to convert.
Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue.
Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
http://usliberals.about.com/od/patriotactcivilrights/a/MLKWords.htm
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1/16/06 "Legacy of Martin Luther King" Largo, MD.
"Then I reflect and I said, The third President of the United States is probably somewhere saying to himself how did a brother wind up in my office.
And then I reflect a little bit more and I go Sally Hemming knows how I wound up in that office. It is one of those pleasures I get, everyday."
~Lt Gov M.Steele speech in Church to many, including a classes of students.
So how did Sally Hemming know about Thomas M. DiBiagio, Ehrlich's long-time friend who sponsored his appointment to Maryland's federal prosecutor, would make unethical allegations against Ehrlich's opponent Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, only to find nothing after the election? What was Lt. Gov. Steele talking about?
How did Ms. Hemming know about the Ehrlich/DiBiagio hack job, Diebold voting machines, biased radio executives, and a fractured Democratic party? We have another "uniter, not a divider."
Posted by Power_of_Equality on January 17, 2006 at 11:19 AM
The Dream is alive in all of us. Dr. King lived and died for it. Let's not disappoint him by faltering now. Let's keep the fight for respect and opportunity alive for all Americans.
Like Thomas Paine said...it's just common sense.
Posted by SandyH on January 17, 2006 at 11:43 AM
did anybody read the transcript from where Gore gave a speech telling Congress to uphold their oaths of office and hold the President accountable for his actions?
Posted by TruthOnly on January 20, 2006 at 05:23 PM
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