MADISON, Wis. — Hundreds at the Overture Center looked back on the man who paved the way for the civil rights movement 55 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as they continue the work for equality that still lies ahead.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Choir led a rendition of “Walk with Me” while audience members took their seats Monday evening.
As they prepared to walk through the life and legacy of the civil rights leader, none in attendance saw those steps up close more than the night’s keynote speaker.
“I’m going to talk about Uncle Martin,” said Donzaleigh Abernathy, Dr. King’s goddaughter.
Donzaleigh’s father was none other than the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, a close friend and mentor of Dr. King. “When I was a little girl, he [Dr. King] was just a given, I took him for granted,” Abernathy said, “but it didn’t really register until he left us and, in the decades past, and all of a sudden, he became huge.”
“People need to understand this is our history,” she said. “Not only is it the history of Black people in America, it’s the history of white people in America, it is American history.”
During the event, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and a representative for Dane County Executive Joe Parisi presented a “City-County Humanitarian Award honoring Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” to Dr. Charles Taylor, an award-winning documentarian and author of the official Juneteenth book used in the movement to make it a national holiday.
The same award was also presented to the late Wayne Strong, a former Madison Police Officer and instructor at UW-Madison’s Center for Law, Society & Justice.
“This holiday more than any other challenges us to recall the impact that one man, one human being whom I call the most prolific and profound and yet fearless dreamer that this world has ever seen,” said Telisa Yancey, President of American Family Insurance and MC.
That impact was also celebrated through songs from the Choir, which Jeffrey Brown was experiencing off-stage for the first time.
“I actually sung with the Martin Luther King Freedom choir (for) a couple years and stuff, so it’s my first-year kind of seeing it from a different angle,” Brown said.
But even while commemorating the life and death of the civil rights leader 55 years ago, many could not forget the current work that still needs to be done.
“We need to be more mindful of the things that Dr. King fought for us and to get, you know, more positive things happening in 2023,” Brown said.
“We continue to be presented with challenges throughout our nation that our attempting to erode the progress that Dr. King and so many others fought for,” Yancey said.
According to Abernathy, that’s why it’s vital all generations remember her uncle’s message of nonviolence and equal rights for all creeds, colors, and religions.
“The most important thing that Uncle Martin would say today is try to figure out how to reach across that aisle to those who are different,” Abernathy said.
In order to do what needs to be done to further the movement.
“It gives them hope that this will be a better country and the turmoil that, this political turmoil that has arisen it will be drowned out,” Abernathy said.
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
