Saturday, April 26, 2008
by Christine D’Agostino
HUDSON -- People from throughout the community came together Friday to mark the 40th anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination with a procession up Warren Street. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.“We were concerned that with the late start, no one would show up,” the Rev. Kim Singletary of the Overcomers Ministries said, “but we would be remiss not to acknowledge that he paid the ultimate price.”
The memorial march and rally that followed was a multicultural and multi-generational event. By the time the march started, about 30 people had gathered at Promenade Park. Drummers led the group as it moved up Warren Street, growing in size as it went. By the time the walk had concluded at Seventh Street Park, there were more than 50 people gathered to watch the rally.
As the march passed by, those sitting along the sidewalk waved at participants. Others popped their heads out of Warren Street’s shops to voice their support or applaud.
One group that was well-represented at the march was Mother United for Social Enrichment, which president Pamela Badila says is a group of women that seek to engage the community in social consciousness.
“Today we celebrate the life and legacy of one of our heroes, Martin Luther King,“ she said. “We’re marking a moment of homage and tribute.”For Badila, the issue was particularly relevant Friday, because of the verdict that came down in the Sean Bell case. She was referring to three New York City police officers who were acquitted of murder earlier Friday in the 2006 shooting of Sean Bell, which took place hours before his wedding.
“Justice is not always met,” she said. “There’s still a lot of work to be done. Racism is the face of it, but the real problem is ignorance.
“Martin Luther King stood for all things correct, but we lost him,” Badila said.
Once the march reached Seventh Street Park, several people spoke. Alan Skerrett, president of the Columbia-Green [sic] NAACP, said the event was brought about partly in response to the notion that King is only honored once a year.
“We and the co-sponsors collaborated on putting together this little event to acknowledge King’s existence,” he said.
Skerrett also urged the community to “demand what Martin Luther King died for,” which is peace and equality. …
“People tend to not have listened when he [King] said, ‘I have a dream.’ He meant we need to build ourselves up, in areas such as education,” [Supervisor William] Hughes [D-Hudson 4] said.
“We can’t rely on the government to give us things,” he added “We need to educate and be able to sustain ourselves.”…
“We need to stop looking at Dr. King as the one leader, and each of us as individuals need to be leaders, and righteous, in our own hearts,” Badila told the crowd.
The Rev. Ron Grant of Shiloh Baptist Church said, “The dreamer was assassinated, but the dream lives on,” He spoke about each member of the community, regardless of circumstance, having equal opportunity to advance in life.
“Everyone has aright to the pursuit of happiness,” he said. …
The message of the day was summed up by a little girl named Ingrid, who said, “I think if we all followed Martin Luther King’s dream the world would be a lot better place for all of us.” …
James M. White Jr., vice-president of the Columbia-Greene NAACP, said that networking, especially reaching out to young people, is a key to getting community members involved in the group.
“The vocal part of what we’re about should be heard today,” he said. “We want to give the community a chance to see what we’re about.
“The organization is not dead,” he continued. “As long as we have good will and good people on board, we will not die.”
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