Lewisburg’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Committee honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a little differently this year. Due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual celebration was held virtually.
Comments recorded from a previous celebration held on January 15, 2018, kicked off the streamed-event.
“I’m here this morning to celebrate Martin Luther King Day because people who forget their past are destined to repeat it. We’re here to remember the dream. We’re here to remember what Dr. King and others alongside of him and others today still do.”
Another event attendee said, “Since 1983 Lewisburg has been celebrating Martin Luther King Day. And I think that’s really important. It’s a small community, and although West Virginia has a reputation of not being tolerant or understanding, I truly believe that the Lewisburg community and the Greenbrier Valley have a lot more to offer and that it’s very important for us to support something that is positive as opposed to always focusing on the negative.”
Lewisburg Mayor Beverly White then read the Martin Luther King proclamation for 2021.
“Whereas in 1853, as the United States lurched towards civil war, Theodore Parker, a Unitarian Clergyman, challenged his country to abolish slavery. Writing these words, I do not pretend to understand the moral universe. The ark is a long one and I’m sure it bends towards justice.
And whereas, on January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln fixed the seal of the United States upon the Emancipation Proclamation, which concluded with these words: ‘And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.’
And whereas, in spite of victory in the civil war and the abolition of slavery, in spite of the passage of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution in 1868, mandating equal justice and the 15th Amendment in 1869, ensuring voting rights for all Americans. Nevertheless, injustice in the form of segregation and systemic racism continued to plague our country for the next 100 years.
And whereas, March 31, 1968, when the prophetic voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. echoed through the towering arches of the national cathedral in Washington D.C., to a nation clamoring for the realization of fundamental civil rights, Dr. King declared ‘we shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.’
And whereas, despite the assassination of Dr. King and the tragic impacts of an additional 52 years of systemic racism, faithfully we have pledged allegiance to one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all. Thereby we have reaffirmed our belief that the vision of freedom and equality in America is not an unattainable idea, but rather it can be a tangible reality when we act together to claim liberty as our birthright, and justice as our national destiny
And therefore, I, Beverly White, Mayor of Lewisburg, West Virginia, Proclaim the week of January the 18th to the 25th, 2021, to be Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. week. And in celebration of liberty and justice for all, I urge all of us to, collectively, no matter our politics or race or religion, to bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice. We experience a moral universe if we dedicate ourselves to make it so. We liberate ourselves and one another by exercising our hard-won civil and voting rights. By acts of decency, kindness and mutual respect, we renew our nation’s promise and honor a great leader who, by his example, illuminated the non-violent, righteous pathway forward towards our promised land of freedom and equality…a nation with liberty and justice for all.”
The streamed-event, which features musical performances as well as remarks from other notable West Virginia residents, is available for viewing on the Clifton Presbyterian Church’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/pJphztdqi6c.
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