The annual Lewisburg Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration is available for those that wish to hear his message of equality of opportunity for all.
The celebration was posted to YouTube, unable to take place in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The full video, approximately 30 minutes long, can be found on Youtube.com by searching “Lewisburg MLK 2022.”
The event highlighted an, unfortunately, timeless call to action for those in the United States.
“We know that at age 39, [Martin Luther King Jr.] had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for leading millions of people in a nonviolent movement that shattered the southern system of segregation of races,” said Keynote Speaker Fred Simms. “He had a passion for the advocacy of civil and human rights. His reason for actions can be heard in his quote; ‘I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture of their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down, men other-centered can build up.’ Dr. King wanted to be remembered as a drum major for justice. And indeed he is.”
The Keynote Speaker |
The celebration video begins with Pastor Kathie D. Holland of New Vision Baptist Church in White Sulphur Springs.
“Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we are unable to join together in person and celebrate as we have in the past, by gathering early at the Greenbrier County Courthouse. singing We Shall Overcome while marching to the Lewisburg United Methodist Church,” said Holland. “There, a community lunch had been prepared for marchers and participants on the program.”
Kathie Holland |
Two staple musicians from previous celebrations performed in the video – Nevaeh Traynham sang the customary opening music for the ceremony, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and Chris Winston performed “Jesus Is Love.”
Lewisburg Mayor Beverly White, the city’s first African American woman mayor, read the city’s proclamation of MLK Day, which focuses on the biblical story of the Good Samaritan.
“Dr. King said it seems to me that this man’s goodness can be described in one word, altruism, defined as regard for and devotion to the interest of others. Overcoming his own fear of being beaten and robbed, the Good Samaritan did not ask what will happen to me if I stopped along this dangerous roadside to help someone I do not know? Instead, he asked what will happen to this fellow human being if I do not help him now? … Dr. King did not ask will my home be bombed? Will my life be threatened? Will I be jailed? Instead, he asked what will happen to the cause of justice and the masses of Negro people who have never experienced the warmth of economic security If I do not participate actively and courageously in this movement?”
Lewisburg Mayor Beverly White |
Keynote Speaker Bishop Fred T. Simms of Heart of God Ministries in Beckley emphasized the ongoing need for an active voice fighting for the needs of minority communities.
“Is there not a cause to fight for voting rights? Is there not a call was my brothers and sisters – ask George Floyd Is there not a cause? Because a knee on the neck is the same as a noose around the neck. Either one and either way, you can’t breathe. … How can we get our children a better education, to get a better job? Is there not a cause? Yes, my brothers and sisters, we need to step up to make a difference in the midst of our community. … As we celebrate this day called Martin Luther King’s birthday, is there not a cause? There is a cause, but the question is are you willing to respond to the calls?”
The reasons for both the wide majority of peaceful protests and the minority of violent protests, are still present and resisted by the modern Black Lives Matter movement. The idea that acts of protest are largely violent is a myth propagated to hurt the push for equal treatment. According to statistics cited by the Washington Post, “during the 12,839 racial justice protests in 2020, only 4 percent included property damage.”
Simms cited Rodney King, who appeared on television on the third day of the Los Angeles riots that emerged after he was beaten by police. In this interview, King asked “people, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along?”
Simms spoke to those fighting the fight, warning them not to take on traits of those they resist.
“I want to remind you, don’t let your struggle become your identity. Dr. King now is alluding to the fact that a person’s true moral fiber only becomes apparent in the times of deep struggle and the times of challenge. [It] cannot really be fully measured in times of peace. It takes courage to live out your dreams, but it takes patience to survive your storms. You need both today. … Don’t allow someone else’s evil take on life, to become your take, and overtake you. You must move it, but you must keep on going. Don’t allow someone else’s ‘can’t do’s,’ telling you what you can’t do, define you. You must move it and you must keep on going.”
Of the many reasons King spoke out, Simms noted his faith as one of the most important to him.
“Dr. King was not only a civil rights leader, brothers and sisters, but more importantly, he was a man who had faith in God. It was to the attitude of faith, that the greater the giant, the harder it falls. Dr. King’s attitude of faith was not a feeling. It was not fear, it was not a fluff, it was not a fad. Nor was it foolish, but his faith was an active confidence in God who reveals his unfailing love in each and every one of us. … Remember that God isn’t trying to change your mountain, he’s using your mountain to change you.”
In addition, Simms emphasized that the worldview is also just good for business.
“Businesses, brothers and sisters, that are going to be viable today have to think now about the diversity of their customer base,” Simms said. “Whether it’s a business, whether it’s a church, whether it’s a restaurant, you have to listen and keep your ear to the ground. So many CEOs, my brothers and sisters, are in trouble because they never leave the golf course and they never leave [their] country clubs to hear what their community or what their customers want [or] what their customers need. Instead of spending more money on damage, control, and PR statements, try adding more diversity to our businesses, because, after all, we are a nation of many tribes.”
At the end of the day, however, Simms said that the fight is, simply, about doing what’s right.
“‘Every man must decide what he will walk in the light of – creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgment,’” Simms read. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others? … What does it take for kindness to end hostilities? We’re still fighting racial inequality, not only … in the institutions of justice, but also in our education, in our banking, in our housing, and our health care and, yes, in social welfare. The first rule of physics states [that] an object will remain at rest or in a uniform state of motion unless the state is changed by an external force. Martin Luther King once said, if you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. Whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward. Today, my brothers and sisters, the most important thing that we must understand is that we must keep moving.”
Nevaeh Traynham |
Chris Winston |
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