At a rural church, everyday folks were reminded they need to act on his behalf.
By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published January 20, 2004
[Times photo: Dan McDuffie]
Myles Carter, 3, fidgets while mom Telisha Mckenzie, left, sings with the Pasco Community Youth Choir for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. About 200 people gathered for the ceremony at the Victorious Church of God in Christ in Lumberton, a rural community near Zephyrhills.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day coverage in today's Times Drawing on art to find the harmony inside us all By MARY JO MELONE Rain clouds were forming overhead, and people were setting up food tables and chairs along the street where the Martin Luther King Jr. parade would later march, when my friend Tony Collins and I entered St. Petersburg's Straub Park. Wake up and spread King's word to children By ERNEST HOOPER Every year, the Tampa Organization of Black Affairs has its annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Breakfast on the King holiday at 6:45 a.m. Breaking bread and barriers By COLLEEN JENKINS A moment to honor a civil rights hero brings together blacks and whites sharing a dream and a meal on a cold and rainy day. Signing up for the dream By TOM ZUCCO As people lined streets to celebrate a champion of equality, volunteers worked the crowd to register them to vote. King's job is still far from done By MOLLY MOORHEAD At a rural church, everyday folks were reminded they need to act on his behalf. Some fear King's message gets lost By MEGAN SCOTT When pressed, some children enjoying festivities and a day off school don't always know who, or why, they are celebrating. Bright hopes under cloudy skies By JARED GOLDBERG-LEOPOLD St. Petersburg's 19th parade shows that residents will turn out to honor King even when the outlook's dreary. Some snub Bush speech at FAMU By Associated Press TALLAHASSEE - About a dozen students walked out Monday before Gov. Jeb Bush gave a Martin Luther King Jr. Day address at historically black Florida A&M University. Pointed calls for peace mark King Day By Associated Press ATLANTA - Americans observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday with some activists charging that the war in Iraq runs counter to what the civil rights leader stood for.
ZEPHYRHILLS - The Rev. Charlie Little told a group of about 200 Monday that Martin Luther King Jr., through his work for racial equality and social justice, "brought people to a point."
The rest is up to the people.
Little, a Ridge Manor pastor, spoke on the theme Train Up a Child during a commemorative program for King at Victorious Church of God in Christ in Lumberton on Monday. About 200 people, most of them black, turned out for the annual event. The program often rotates among Dade City churches, but this year it came to Lumberton, a rural community on Zephyrhills' northeastern fringe.
Saint Leo University also hosted two speakers, a performance by the school gospel choir, a candlelight vigil and a poetry reading.
Little, a fiery speaker, praised King's accomplishments but said the responsibility of furthering his causes lies with people like those who filled the small, rural church.
"We lost our perspective, and we fail to understand that we are fighting an age-old foe," Little said.
That foe, he said, is not only inequality but also society's temptations that lead to things like sexual immorality and drug addiction.
"We're living in an age where our young women have not been taught to respect themselves," Little said. "We're living in a world where most of our young men don't know what a work ethic is."
He encouraged people to keep a close eye on their children and their neighbors' children, encourage them in school and remember that parents must be in charge.
As he talked about the considerable work that needs to be done to achieve equality, Little also drew joy from the progress that has been made.
"Yes, things are better than they used to be," he said. "Yes, I don't want to go back to the old way. But we still got a ways to go."
The Pasco Community Youth Choir, which performs about four times a year, brought the audience to its feet with rousing performances of songs such as We Shall Overcome and Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing.
Choir director Normita Brown said the group of about 30 kids rehearsed just twice.
Marcus Tookes, a 15-year-old from Dade City, performed with the choir. He said King's life is an inspiration to his generation.
"He brought us a long way, so we don't have to get talked bad to for the way we are," Tookes said.
Zephyrhills City Council member Liz Geiger and Dade City Mayor Scott Black read proclamations from the two cities praising King's work.
"His crusade moved this nation forward," Geiger said.
Also attending were Dade City police Chief Phil Thompson, Zephyrhills police Chief Russell Barnes and Zephyrhills City Manager Steve Spina. Dade City Commissioner Eunice Penix hosted the program.
The ceremony ended about 12:30 p.m., with a reception afterward. The last person to speak from the pulpit was Irene Dobson, a longtime resident and activist in Zephyrhills who led the campaign last fall to get Sixth Avenue renamed for King.
Wearing a black shirt bearing the words of King's "I Have a Dream" speech, Dobson said King's work is not yet done.
"The struggle is still on," Dobson said. "We're all still dreaming."
