MLK event in Youngstown on fighting poverty attracts hundreds

MLK event in Youngstown on fighting poverty attracts hundreds

By JOHN W. GOODWIN

jgoodwin@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Hundreds gathered at a South Side church Sunday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. not only for his fight against social injustice, but against poverty as well.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee sponsored the Sunday worship service at New Bethel Baptist Church on Hillman Street on what would have been the fallen civil rights leader’s 83rd birthday. The theme for the service was, “Responding with King’s Passion in the Fight Against Poverty.”

The Rev. Dr. Lewis W. Macklin II, convener of the planning committee, said the theme for the celebration was meant to reflect the trying economic times in the Mahoning Valley and how Dr. King would have responded to those issues.

Rev. Macklin said we are at a time in society where many elderly people are faced with the decision on whether to eat a decent meal, heat their homes or treat an illness. Dr. King, he said, would have been disheartened to see anyone in such a situation.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.