Dreams Live On At Celebration Of King’s Day

Children fidgeted on a Sunday afternoon, the choir swayed and clapped, and the crowd thanked God.

It felt a lot like church, and in a way, it was - even if the service was held in the student union at Spokane Community College.

The public sermon celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. and what his vision means today. More than 500 people of all races attended, looking to pass King’s torch to a new generation.

“I am afraid we are being lulled fast asleep,” said keynote speaker Dr. James Williams, the college president. “Far too many of us believe that we have overcome.”

The two-hour unity celebration featured more than a dozen speakers, a sprinkling of songs from the Martin Luther King Mass Choir and the King’s Kids Mass Choir, and a multicultural business exhibition.

Mayor Jack Geraghty proclaimed Martin Luther King Week, the city’s 25-year-old Martin Luther King Center collected money to help fund its programs, and everyone remembered the civil rights leader’s dream.

“I hope a year comes where nobody has to ask me, ‘How are race relations?”’ said Denise Osei, the college’s multicultural specialist who organized the event. “We need to live the dream every day of every week of every year.”

Newly elected City Council member Roberta Greene, who is African-American, talked about growing up in Charleston, S.C., and taking the bus to college in Talladega, Ala. She used whatever segregated services were available.

Greene also remembered college friends rushing to Birmingham, Ala., in 1963, after a bomb exploded at a Baptist church and killed four girls.

And she remembered King, the first black man many saw on television.

“He died at 39, and we all say, ‘So young,”’ Greene said. “But remember, it’s not how long you live but how well and how much you accomplish.”

V. Anne Smith, president of the Spokane chapter of Links Inc., the international women’s civic organization, was born in the 1930s in the South.

“I know how hard and bitter and cold it can be when one is discriminated against,” Smith said, adding that nowadays, racial tensions seem to be different. “The youth now seem to be more volatile, on both sides, and it’s sad. It’s real sad. I hate to see this happen in Spokane.”

Yet Smith and others remain hopeful. They called for Spokane’s network of civic organizations to reach out to youth and bridge racial chasms. They demanded action to erase harmful stereotypes.

Chester Carothers wanted to remind people of color to control their own destiny. For more than a year, Carothers has co-owned Maid to Perfection, which provides cleaning services to homes and businesses.

“We wanted to make good news,” said Carothers, who is African-American. “We always get shown getting handcuffed and stuffed in a police car.”

His booth was one of 15 lining the walls from businesses owned by African-Americans and service organizations. Tables were covered with pamphlets, business cards, recipes, T-shirts and books on influential African-Americans from Sojourner Truth to Muhammad Ali.

Michael Barrow helped run a booth, despite being on a tight schedule. He needed to be at the KTSL radio station by 5 p.m. to host his show, the first featuring contemporary gospel music in Spokane.

“There’s just a need to be here, to support each other,” Barrow said. “If we come together and just talk, we can find things out.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: EVENTS Regional events honoring Martin Luther King Jr.: Annual Public Unity March, starting at 9:30 a.m. outside the Federal Building. The march ends at the Convention Center, where several people will speak. Open house and reception at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, 845 S. Sherman, noon to 3 p.m. Washington State University’s Unity March, 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Multicultural Center. At 7 p.m., the national president of Links, Inc., an international service organization, speaks at the Compton Union Building. Gonzaga University prayer service, 4 to 5 p.m. Friday at the Jesuit House Chapel.