Community members keep MLK’s life in mind

STEUBENVILLE -- Community members contemplated the life of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during a reflection hour hosted Monday by the Steubenville Martin Luther King Jr. Association in the MLK Recreation Center.

Aided by religious, personal and historical observations, the event was one of the MLK association's three events planned for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, celebrating what would have been King's 95th birthday.

Music included "Lift Every Voice and Sing" -- commonly referred to as "The Black National Anthem" -- which was led by Melanye Wares of St. Peter's African Methodist Episcopal Church in Weirton.

Steubenville Mayor Jerry Barilla recalled how he was a college senior at the time of King's "I Have a Dream" speech on Aug. 28, 1963, during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march's show of support was "awe-inspiring," Barilla said, and the speech itself was a challenge for everyone to "be better Americans."

"We as a society, a community and individuals must confront the abuses of power and the challenges of hate and discrimination, protect the rights of voters ... and (increase) access for quality jobs, health care, housing and education," Barilla said.

King had a true understanding that "all men are created equal," Barilla said, concluding with a quote from former Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy: "The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."

The Rev. Buena Dudley, pastor of Quinn AME Church in Steubenville, read from the Bible's Amos 5:22-24, which calls for justice to "roll on like a river and righteousness like a never-failing stream."

In a prayer, Dudley said, "Lord, thank you for those who stood up to injustice and sat down for justice and followed their leader (King) as he followed you. Lord, thank you for one Martin Luther King, who walked I the way of the Lord, giving his life so that all others might be free from the tyranny and hate and shackles of injustice."

Dudley recalled how she was almost 13 years old when the news of King's assassination on April 4, 1968, in Memphis shook her life and the lives of her parents, who she said were strong advocates for justice.

"My life would never be the same," Dudley said, noting how every assignment she turned in for school became about King -- efforts not always met with acceptance.

"I stood alone in my social studies class as the teacher called Dr. King a communist, a rabble-rouser (and) a man who started riots. But he was my hero," said Dudley, who asked those present to renew their resolve to follow King's example of "truth, righteousness, humility and the power of God through faith."

Michael Jett Sr., president of Steubenville NAACP Unit 3203 and an ordained elder at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Steubenville, said he was honored to reflect on King's life, though he was saddened by the fact he was born after King's death.

Jett said individuals must face the truth about increasing wealth disparity, which he said is worse than it was in King's lifetime, adding, "Although we've come a long way, I'm not sure we've come in the right direction."

Carol Ann Simmons was the event's central speaker. A member of Quinn AME Church, Simmons serves as the secretary and publicity co-chair for the MLK association, as well as the president of the Steubenville Chapter of the National Action Network, a nonprofit civil rights organization founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton.

Simmons presented on the life and work of King, who was born Michael King Jr. on Jan. 15, 1929, though his name was changed later in honor of the Protestant reformer Martin Luther after King's father returned from a trip to Europe.

King enrolled at Boston University for its doctoral program, studying systematic theology. While studying there, he met Coretta Scott, who he married and had four children with. His became pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., at the age of 25.

King became involved with civil rights activism, Simmons said, leading the March on Washington and the 13-month Montgomery bus boycott. Simmons called King "the instrument of freedom" for Americans, noting how he survived a stabbing attack in 1958 during a book signing.

The March on Washington, Simmons said, drew a racially diverse crowd of supporters, numbering about 250,000. It was there, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, that King delivered his legendary "I Have a Dream Speech." As part of the presentation, clips of King's speeches were played.

King gave his final speech -- "I've Been to the Mountaintop" -- on April 3, 1968, to striking sanitation workers at Masonic Temple in Memphis. King was killed the next day by a gunshot while standing on the balcony of his motel room.

Simmons concluded by imagining how she would have introduced King for a speech if she were given the opportunity. King was a "man of God who needs no introduction," she said, noting that his life and legacy can be seen all over the U.S. -- memorial streets, organizations and statues, including the 30-foot, white granite Stone of Hope in the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Prior to a closing prayer from Jett, Kirtdoll said she gets emotional when remembering King and his death, adding that her husband was able to attend King's funeral in Memphis.

"I'm so glad we had these reflections today, and I hope we continue to have them," Kirtdoll said, adding that she believes everyone should "learn (King's) quotes because they're words to live by, and if we don't know those words, we can't act them out."