King's work continues

Speakers at the 22nd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast Monday morning challenged those who braved the morning rains to do more for their community.

Organizers estimated 300 to 400 people attended the event, Cape Girardeau's oldest honoring King. Debra Mitchell-Braxton, executive director of the King City Wide Celebration Committee, expressed disappointment at the low turnout at the Osage Community Centre, saying she thought the rains that swept through the area Monday were mainly to blame. Rains and flooding kept some local residents at home as well as others who normally would attend from cities further south, Mitchell-Braxton said.

That low turnout would later provide material for her closing address, when Mitchell-Braxton challenged those present and absent to make the most of the numerous local events honoring King's legacy over the next few days."If you're truly about keeping Dr. King's dream alive, you should be out at the events honoring his dream," Mitchell-Braxton said.

The rain didn't stop Vanessa Smith, a Cape Girardeau resident since the 1970s, from attending her first King memorial breakfast. For the previous 22 years, Smith wasn't able to make it to the event because she couldn't get off work. But this year, a job in government allowed her a day off.

As event organizers say, for Smith and others at the Osage Community Centre Monday was not a day off but "a day on." During passionate speeches by Mitchell-Braxton and keynote speaker Dr. James Webb, the audience yelled "Amen" and shouted affirmation of blunt messages that challenged them to do more.

Black and white community members attended the breakfast, but Mitchell-Braxton counted fewer white faces this year than in the past. The races once came together in Cape Girardeau, but a split has developed, Mitchell-Braxton said."I don't want this to be just a black holiday," she said.

Mitchell-Braxton reaffirmed the committee's decision to take on the community breakfast last year after Southeast Missouri State University decided to drop the tradition and start a new one -- the university's dinner event coming up Wednesday.

"It doesn't matter where the breakfast is ... the tradition should always live," Mitchell-Braxton said.

Webb, the keynote speaker who preceded Mitchell-Braxton, confronted today's black population for not taking advantage of the freedoms they've been given while pointing out that racism still exists within American institutions.

Webb was introduced by his daughter, Michelle Gary, the first black woman on the Cape Girardeau police force, and used her experience to start his challenge.

"I am happy that she cracked the ice, but I'm sad because either she didn't crack it open far enough or the people who own the pond closed it back up, because she's the only black female on the police department," said Webb.

He is an AME church pastor in St. Louis and civil rights activist who worked with both King and Nelson Mandela.

Using the biblical story of Joseph, Webb asked those in attendance what they have done with the blessings they've received.

"We are too busy trying to destroy each other, not trying to lift each other up," Webb said. "We are in trouble because racism is still very real in our land. Things have changed ... but it is not over. It is not finished. It is not accomplished.

"What do you know that others do not know that can make a difference in Cape Girardeau? You can't impact the world, but why not impact Cape?"

Webb admonished today's black population for wasting the opportunities they've been given, for not living up to the standards set by previous generations like King's. Today's blacks, said Webb, don't take advantage of an educational system that was built for them and technological advancements they could use to make the world a better place.

"I'm tired of us blaming white folks for what we can do ourselves," Webb said. "Someone needs to remind us that we are free, independent people, but freedom is not free."

As the speech went on, the response from the audience grew. Those in attendance gave Webb a standing ovation at the end of his address.

Smith thought the speech was excellent, a great experience for her first King breakfast in Cape Girardeau.

Immediately following the breakfast the Osage Community Centre hosted the second annual Civil Rights Walk Down Memory Lane, an educational program about the civil rights movement. Other events included the sixth annual Humanitarian Luncheon (see related story) and the 11th annual Youth Gala.

Events honoring King will continue Thursday night at the Show Me Center with the university's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner. The keynote speaker will be Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers.

The citywide celebrations will continue at 6 p.m. Sunday with the second annual Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Tribute at a location yet to be determined.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182