Cape honors King, urged to make most of his dream

On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, the Rev. Bobby Dean said the example of the civil rights movement is that justice delayed is justice denied. "They were forever being told to wait," he said. "Wait to integrate schools, wait before you can sit at lunch counters, wait to be called a man."

Dr. King and others grew tired of waiting so they changed the world, said Dean. So too, he said, this generation should never allow their dreams to be deferred.

Local residents marked the birthday of Dr. King, who was assassinated in 1968, with a series of events meant to pay tribute to the leader's legacy of non-violent protest and his dream of dignity and equality for all Americans.

The keynote speaker of the Fifth Annual Humanitarian Luncheon Benefit at the Osage Community Centre, Dean gave a history lesson that was unflinching and unvarnished.

The crowd of 300 broke in repeatedly with applause and chants of "amen" as Dean, a 30-year veteran of the civil rights movement and the pastor of St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in Charleston, Mo., told those present where the movement has been and where it still must go.

The crowd gathered at the 21st annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. breakfast broke into applause several times during the Rev. Ron Webb's speech at the Osage Community Centre Monday. Webb is the pastor at Mount Calvary Powerhouse Church in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

Dean's tour of the past was not for the feint of heart. He took the crowd back to 1955 and a Mississippi bar where teenager Emmett Till was murdered in a brutal hate crime. He took them to Arkansas in 1957 where school officials debated whether to let a mob of angry citizens lynch one of the "Little Rock 9" in order to save the others. He took the crowd to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., where in 1965 Dr. King led marchers in a display of civil disobedience by marching peacefully to Montgomery. Twice these marchers were violently rebuked only to be driven forward by Dr. King who said, "Our walking feet have walked too far to turn around." The third time they were aided by federal protection as they made the symbolic march across the bridge, Dean said.

Dean implored the audience to remember past struggles and never look the other way when injustice occurs. "Often times we as ministers and pastors of the gospel like to hide behind Jesus as opposed to stepping up to the plate," he said. "But in the '20s the gospel was being preached, and men were still being lynched. In the '30s, the gospel was being preached, and we still couldn't ride the bus. In the '40s the gospel was being preached and we still couldn't vote...Now it's time for us to step up to the plate..."

Dean said change must start with education and the younger generation. "We've got to step up and say it's not OK to choose one African American student and call him a mascot while the others fall behind," he said.

The theme of the luncheon was humanitarian service. Awards were given out in memory of Dr. C. John Ritter, whose service treating patients in Africa inspired the awards.

More than 300 people gathered for the 21st annual Memorial Breakfast in the morning at the Osage Community Centre in Cape Girardeau. Guest speaker Mike Shain, a KFVS news anchor, said Martin Luther King Jr. asked for one thing during his life -- that the guarantees listed in the Declaration of Independence stood for all Americans.

"Dr. King changed America and he brought us all together," Shain said. "And now today we are all equals in rights and laws."

King stood for equality and spoke of it in his famous 1968 speech, said featured speaker Rev. Ron Webb of Mt. Calvary Powerhouse Church in Poplar Bluff, Mo. "Today we are here to live out King's dream and put it in action."

While the dreamer has died, his dream still lives on, Webb said. "Dr. King shared his dream, and he died because of it. You need to live out your dream while you're here."

Webb said Dr. Martin Luther Jr. King Day is a day of unity for black and white people to join together and remember King's dream.

"It's a new day and new times," Webb said. "Let's not forget the dream in vain. We've come a long way, and it is a new day for us."

Webb advised the children in the audience that getting an education should be the focus of their lives.

"Dr. King did not have a dream for you to spend your money on tires and rims. Spend it on an education," he said. "Live out your dream, and don't let anyone ever stop you."

Monday afternoon at West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau, local students continued the celebration with tributes to Dr. King's legacy. Master of ceremonies Lauren Lee said the vocal tribute was appropriate because singing was an important component of the civil rights movement. "Music and art were ways of expressing the struggles African Americans have had throughout the years," she said. "There were cries for help, and sometimes the voice and singing was the only way to get out the pain. That's why I think these performances are essential to the celebration of Dr. King's dream."

Elizabeth Harris, a senior at Cape Central High School who said that Dr. King's example has inspired her to pursue a career in medicine, was one of eight featured performers. She sang a rousing version of the hymn "Why Should I Feel Discouraged?"

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