Our nation and community honors its greatest human rights leader, the late martyr Martin Luther King Jr., in what has become almost a weekend of observance.
Saturday the local chapter of the NAACP held its annual MLK bunch, a meaningful celebration of culture and heritage and perhaps most importantly heroes and community leaders who continue the work of Dr. King who literally gave his life for the cause of freedom.
Most poignant of the NAACP’s event was presentation of the Jerry Anderson Award that honors the memory of a man who gave his life saving two boys from raging floodwaters of Stones River in 1989.
Charlie Sims of Murfreesboro received the award this year in recognition of his risking his own life to pull a neighbor woman from her burning apartment on Nov. 21.
In addition to a number of events at MTSU, MLK Day will be remembered Monday with the annual march of Murfreesboro Lodge No. 12 of the (Prince Hall F&A) Masons that will proceed at noon from Central Middle School to Patterson Center on Mercury Boulevard.
Patterson will also be the location Monday at 1 p.m. for a program, featuring several youth entertainment groups, sponsored by the MLK Scholarship Board.
And, from 2-4 p.m. Discovery Center on Broad Street will hold its annual MLK celebration.
Martin Luther King Jr., brought down huge racial barriers before being assassinated, but the rubble from those barriers still tends to trip us up and remains as a huge obstacle overall as seen in the ongoing legacy of 200 years of denying education and prosperity to part of our population.
MLK Day allows us to continue to recognize that problems exist, to celebrate our victories and the courageous souls who made us change, but be mindful “the dream” is not yet fully realized.
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Hard times are measured in human suffering, homelessness, hunger, stress, worry and the countless ways they manifest themselves on members of our families, friends and neighbors.
United Way helps address those problems, but is struggling this year in reaching its $2.8 million campaign goal.
This is a time when charity carries full meaning. This is when giving counts the most. When giving isn’t empty, the gift carries more weight than any other time.
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And if your heart is big enough find a place for the legions of victims of the Haiti earthquake.
The Heart of Tennessee Red Cross Chapter offers the best opportunity to help those poor souls. |
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