'This little light of mine': Community honors Martin Luther King, Jr.

In addition to music provided by Jamal Walker, Andrea Rose, and Kristine Alcamo, Monday’s event included rebroadcasts of some of King’s most famous speeches.

Said guest speaker Jai Haines: “We’ve got to protect and raise the babies. (Dr. King’s) words carry deeply today. (His) dream is not about everybody getting along but everyone should be met with a level of equality and peace. We deserve to honor and love each other and give each other a little respect. We want to give opportunity a chance. That’s all we need. (King) said even a blind man can see the injustices going on in this country.

Haines continued, “I always gravitate toward the last year of his life. He was tired but he kept pushing. He would not let the evil stop him from doing what he knew to be right. And to me, that said if he could do it, so could I. He was driven with purpose. It was almost like he knew his time was coming. That’s what I call a man of character who can fight through the words and the threats.”

“I am here to pose a question to you and ask you to … act on it: Now what?” said Tracy Pepper, director of Color Me Human. “Now what do we do? How do we get real? We are at a time now when we need to go beyond words. In order to have that foundation, you have to be willing to be courageous, to step outside of your comfort zone, to meet people where they are, willing to be imperfect, willing to be you. Activism is not easy. We have to muster faith, we have to muster our confidence, energy, and persistence. We have to be courageous.”

The congregation collectively sang Stevie Wonder’s hit “Happy Birthday,” which was Wonder’s homage to King.

The program was produced by the Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains, Earth Justice Ministries, Color Me Human, and Creating Communities Beyond Bias.