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This year, he knows just what to say

After wowing them last year, a teen will speak at a King celebration again.

By CHANDRA BROADWATER
Published January 14, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - As he stood in front of the crowd last year, ReShawn Smith felt the adrenaline pumping through his body.

He felt like a loaded gun, just before the trigger is pulled.

He was nervous about giving his speech on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. For a second, the Pasco High School teenager wondered what he was doing, standing in front of all the people gathered to honor the civil rights leader's birthday.

Why did they ask him to speak? What did they want him to say?

During the weeks before, he and the Rev. Bridget Taylor, who has raised him since he was 3 weeks old, revised the talk and practiced again and again at their Brooksville home. Smith knew what he had to do.

As soon as he began to speak, the words flowed eloquently from his lips. Smith commanded the audience with words that weaved between the racial divide King fought against and the one the teen still sees in Hernando County. The crowd roared with applause when he was done.

They've been talking about it ever since.

This year, Smith, 17, intends to do the same thing. Again he will be among speakers today at Grace World Outreach Church, formerly known as the Brooksville Assembly of God.

The celebration, organized by the Hernando County branch of the NAACP, will continue Monday with a fish fry at Kennedy Park.

No parade will be held this year because there wasn't enough money for permits, said Hernando NAACP President Wayman Boggs. But next year, with more community support, the group hopes to stage one again.

Boggs said the remembrance of King's birthday is of great importance to the entire community, particularly to young people. He is pleased that Smith is speaking again at this year's service.

"They have to understand their past so they can validate where they are today," Boggs said. "Young Americans need to understand the struggle and understand the role that Martin Luther King played in history and the sacrifices he made for us."

While a national holiday, it's one that some still do not recognize, Boggs said. And King's dream of equality for everyone still has not been obtained.

That's where people like Smith can help.

This afternoon, the articulate teen plans on using King's last speech, the "I've Been to the Mountaintop" talk the leader gave in Memphis the day before he was assassinated. And with his own interpretations, Smith hopes to remind his audience of why honoring the memory of such a great man is so important.

"I know a lot of people, mostly black kids who are my age, who are involved in the same things I do," Smith said. "But it's not enough. I stick my neck out, I bend over backwards for what I do. I don't smoke weed or drink alcohol because I plan on making something of myself. I plan on having a life, family, and I want my kids to know their dad's name."

The junior, who is also a model and an aspiring dental hygienist, plans on enrolling at Tennessee State University, one of several historically black colleges and universities in the nation.

He hopes to be the first person in his family to graduate from college.

"The Lord makes me strong, and has given me these gifts to share," Smith said. "I think other young people should do the same. All they have to do is put their head to it. You can do anything."

After all, he said, that's what King did.

"He had the confidence to do the things he did," Smith said. "He didn't have to, but he did. He did it because he wanted to be free."

Chandra Broadwater can be reached at cbroadwater@sptimes.com or 352 848-1432.

IF YOU GO

MLK celebration

Hernando County will celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday over two days. At 3:30 p.m. today, there will be a service at Grace World Outreach Church, 20366 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville. Festivities will continue Monday with a fish fry and family entertainment from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kennedy Park, 899 Kennedy Blvd., Brooksville. The celebration is sponsored by the Hernando County NAACP and is open to the public.

[Last modified January 13, 2007, 20:32:54]