Martin Luther King Honored by Bethune Club, Black Ministers Alliance and DeLandro

Community leader Veronica T. DeLandro was the keynote speaker at the annual community Celebration honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Time for a new day,” said DeLandro. “Time for a change. Time for true representation in this country and in our communities.”

The Celebration event was hosted by the Mary McLeod Bethune Club, whose President is Cheryl Niccolls, and the New Britain Black Ministerial Alliance, whose president is Rev. Gervais Barger, Pastor of Peace Missionary Ministries.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration event was held online on Zoom and streaming on the Facebook page of Spottswood AME Zion Church, where Rev. Samuel C. Blanks is Pastor. Rev. Blanks gave remarks at the event.

The theme of the event was the Bible passage, Micah 7:8, “Though I have fallen, I will rise.”

Ald. Colin Osborn, who was the emcee for the event, said it was is prayer that, “we all will truly understand the importance of coming together in unity to rise above the trials and the tribulations in the circumstances that we face. Even if we do fall, when unified, we will rise.”

Rev. Barger commented at the event that,

it would be tragic, if we thought, for a moment that Dr. King’s dream has been fulfilled. I know that argument that we have achieved many things, but there is so much more to achieve. We must move back to the table and make equality and racial justice a part of the conversation that will be the leading part of the legacy that we leave for our children and our children’s children, so that we can help to make the United States of America the true model of democracy for the world. Black, brown, Asian, Native American, Muslim and whites must work together to demonstrate the love of God – that love that it will take to wipe out hate.

In giving her keynote speech at the event, DeLando said,

I want to take a pause for a minute on something I recently read that really spoke to me. Every year we see many people, friends and foes, who use Dr. King’s quotes to speak up and speak out. Yet for some strange reason, their voices remain silent throughout the other 364 days of the year. This is a quote you don’t often see or hear from Dr. King, but I felt it was fitting today. “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.” Voices that are silent when it comes to health inequities in the midst of a global pandemic. Voices that are silent when it comes to the economic depression, with the rise in unemployment and long lines at the food banks. Voices that are silent when it comes to educational challenges our children, parents and educators face in this virtual environment. Voices that are silent when it comes to racial injustice and outrage in this country. Voices that are silent when people cry out, “voter suppression.” Voices that are silent when the people in their own communities use their voices to speak up and speak out against injustice and intolerance, yet they are not heard.

DeLandro spoke about the turmoil of the past year, with the pandemic, economic dislocation, yet more police violence against unarmed people of color and the attempted coup. Yet, also also talked about the protest movement and about record voter turnout brought a new day, with Kamala Harris being elected as the first woman, first African-American and first south Asian Vice President of the United States. “One can’t ignore,” she said, “that Wednesday’s inauguration will be monumental, unbelievable and remarkable.”

“But,” she said, “it’s also about time. Time for a new day. Time for a change. Time for true representation in this country and in our communities.”

DeLandro then turned to Dr. King’s words that,

For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.”

“Remember, the only way you can fail is if you give up,” DeLandro said. “Every time you fail, you come one step closer to success.”

“Do not back down,” she said. “Do not give up.”

DeLandro spoke to young students, saying, “Often times, people will tell you what you can or cannot do, what you should or should not do and how you should go about doing it. So I say to you to keep flying, keep trying, keep fighting, keep believing. Stand up and speak up. And keep dreaming no small dream.”

“The dream that Dr. King spoke of on the steps in August are still obtainable today,” DeLandro said, continuing,

So I challenge each of us to break free from ordinary thinking, of conventional paths. Dare to go where others won’t go, or are afraid to go. Never stop believing. Never give up hope. Always keep the faith. Be you – be unapologetically you. Be unbought and unbossed. Be better than the best. But most importantly, be the change you wish to see in your community and in this country and in the world.

Rev. Barger, in his comments, said that it was his prayer that everyone participating in the event online, “makes this fight for equality their life’s goal. Only then can we make New Britain, I believe, to be the best city it can possibly be.”

Ronald P. Davis, President of the NAACP New Britain Branch thanked the organizers of the event and encouraged people to join the efforts of the NAACP for civil rights and equality.

Mayor Erin Stewart and Police Chief Christopher Chute also gave remarks at the event.

The community event was one of a number of events in New Britain held to remember Dr. King and the civil rights movement. Other events are being held in the city throughout the week.