CELEBRATING FREEDOM

By Sean Barron

On emancipation anniversary, mayor urges all to do better

Dr. King’s dream of equality continues but has yet to be fully realized, Jay Williams said.

Barack Obama’s historic rise to becoming the nation’s 44th president is a symbol of hope and positive change for many black people, but the biggest source of power to bring about desired change comes from within.

That was a key message put forth during Thursday’s annual Emancipation Proclamation and Installation Service at Elizabeth Missionary Baptist Church, 1210 Himrod Ave., on Youngstown’s East Side.

The worship service, “The Realization of a Dream,” was hosted by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance and co-sponsored by the Baptist Pastors’ Council. The two-hour program honored and celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream and the anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, which ended slavery in the Confederate states in rebellion against the Union.

The service also featured the installation and commissioning service of officers for 2009 of a variety of community organizations.

The IMA’s goals include promoting ecumenical fellowship, directing resources toward various social causes, establishing partnerships with faith-based and community organizations, and cultivating and advancing faith principles and values, organizers say.

Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams, keynote speaker, called on the roughly 250 attendees to recognize that each of them has the ability to change the Mahoning Valley in positive ways.

“The power we need to transform our community is here,” Williams said to applause.

Those who go about trying to make needed changes often face barriers that can cause them to stumble or fall, Williams continued. The “power of spirit,” though, has allowed many blacks and others — locally and nationally known — to work toward undoing Jim Crow laws in the South and overcoming countless other obstacles, the mayor noted.

Williams paraphrased I Corinthians 1:20, which, in effect, reminds people of their God-given powers and how they can be manifested.

Calling King’s dream “a work in progress,” Williams said it’s important that people resist becoming complacent, especially after Obama assumes power. The dream still hasn’t been fully realized, as evidenced by the high incidence of out-of-wedlock births and black-on-black crime, for example, he noted.

The mayor pointed to several successes Youngstown saw in 2008, including a reduction in crime, the maintaining of the city’s safety forces, and operating with a budget surplus — all of which the mayor said he hopes to see continue this year.

Also, the city’s crime situation will be addressed on a deeper level this spring or summer with the start of Operation Cease Fire, a three-pronged approach aimed at tackling violent crime. The strategic crime-reduction initiative relies heavily on direct dialogue with violent gangs by a community partnership; social-service providers for offenders; and community participation, Williams said.

The signing 146 years ago of the Emancipation Proclamation was a major turning point for slaves, but more than a century later, King “reminded [blacks] we’re still not entirely free,” noted the Rev. Kenneth L. Simon, pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church.

Nevertheless, this year the celebration of the historic document’s signing is highlighted against the backdrop of Obama’s assuming the presidency, the Rev. Mr. Simon said.

Toward the end of the service, the Rev. Elizabeth Powell Heritage Award was given to the H. Howard and Edna D. Pincham family. Edna Pincham was honored for her years of community volunteer work, which included organizing the city’s Homeless Task Force as well as the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast and Crime and Violence Prevention Task Force.

The Rev. Mrs. Powell founded the World Fellowship Interdenominational Church, and she was the first woman to receive Baptist ministerial credentials in the Mahoning Valley. She remained active until her death Oct. 23, 2007, at age 105.

The service also featured musical performances by the Emancipation Proclamation Community Choir, as well as remarks from the Pinchams and the Rev. Gena Thornton of Youngstown, pastor of the Cleveland-based St. Paul AME Church.