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Some battles have been won, but the war for equality and justice continues
YOUNGSTOWN
Despite some civil-rights advances for black Americans in recent decades, a war rages on today to achieve access to economic opportunities and health care, said the Rev. Todd Johnson, keynote speaker at Sunday’s Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration and service.
The Rev. Mr. King’s life and legacy were celebrated during a two-hour service filled with stirring preaching, music and dance at the packed Elizabeth Baptist Church on Himrod Avenue in Youngstown.
The service, originally scheduled for Jan. 20, was postponed until Sunday because of the massive winter storm last weekend.
It’s been almost 51 years since the April 4, 1968, assassination of Rev. King, the black preacher who led the civil-rights movement in the United States that changed the nation. Rev. King said he first became aware of racism at 6 when a white friend’s father wouldn’t allow his son to play with him.
The Rev. Mr. Johnson, senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Warren, said there are still plenty of issues to put hands and hearts to; including seeking justice for Matthew Burroughs of Niles, an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by Niles police on Jan. 2.
“We have seen this too many times. The pattern is apparent. Somehow mass murderers find their way unhurt into the back of a police vehicle and get their day in court while black men are killed,” Rev. Johnson said.
“If we are going to walk in the legacy of our mothers and fathers, we dare not let this happen here,” he said.
“We must agitate and irritate. Passive unity and comfortable peace has not given us a thing. We need to take our message to the heights of power,” Rev. Johnson said.
“I cannot be silent. We have fallen asleep in the war. We have enjoyed too much. We need to step back. The war for equality and justice is ongoing. It is the longest-running war in the history of the nation,” said Rev. Johnson.
Several youth groups and speakers also participated in the service by reading Scripture and self-written speeches and singing and dancing, including performances by the Greater Youngstown Community Youth Choir and the Daughters of Bethel of New Bethel Baptist Church in Youngstown.
Among those delivering speeches based on sacred writings were Taylor Cayson of Boardman High School; Caroline Scharf of Youngstown Ursuline High School, representing the Jewish community; and Moataz Rasoul, a student at Youngstown State University.
Rasoul showed the similarities of some of Rev. Kings’s “I Have a Dream” speech quotes and what is contained in the Islamic Quran.
For example, Rasoul said: Rev. King said he wanted to live in a nation where his four children will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
From the Quran: “Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is (the one) best in conduct (most righteous.)
“As we celebrate the life and work of Dr. King, I know that much work remains to be done before Dr. King’s dream becomes a reality,” said Caroline, who read excerpts from Isaiah 40 which “encourages us to continue our work and reminds us that God is Sovereign.”
Ke’Lynn Dean, a junior at Chaney High School, used Rev. King’s sermon delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., where his principles of nonviolence are evident throughout to relate to the Gospel of Matthew in the Bible where Jesus said to “love thine enemy and bless them that curse you.”
So said Ke’Lynn, “As I look into your eyes, and the eyes of all my brothers in Alabama and all over America and the world, I say to you: I love you. I would rather die than hate you. And I am foolish enough to believe that through the power of this love somewhere, men of the most recalcitrant bent will be transformed and then we will be in God’s Kingdom.”
The worship leader, the Rev. Dr. Lewis Macklin, began the program discussing “why we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
“It evokes pride. He provided the right to vote. And today, we witness and celebrate the gifts of youth,” he said.