MLK celebration attendees vow to complete King’s dream
46th annual event held in Morristown
MORRISTOWN – Nearly 500 people gathered at Hyatt at Headquarters Plaza Monday morning for a celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s 87th birthday, where local clergy and public officials discussed the significance of King and his dream.
“The amazing thing about great dreams is they never die,” said Father Herman Arias of St. Margaret’s Church of Scotland, who lead the group in the Prayer for the Beloved Community.
The event takes place every Martin Luther King Jr. Day, sponsored by the Martin Luther King Observance Committee in cooperation with the Morris Area Clergy Council. An annual service for the area began 46 years ago following King’s death, with the special interfaith breakfast beginning 31 years ago.
Yolanda Pierce, associate professor of religion and literature and director of the Center for Black Church Studies at the Princeton Theological Seminary, delivered the morning’s commemorative message. She spoke of building community, creating a place all can call home and reclaiming the American Dream.
“The American Dream has not functioned like that for many of us,” Pierce said, adding just because the president of the United States is African-American does not mean King’s legacy has been fulfilled.
Pierce referenced King’s monument in Washington, D.C. The stone monument is symbolically unfinished, with only the top half of King’s image chiseled out of the rock, representing the unfinished dream.
“It’s up to us to finish the work of the unfinished artist,” Pierce said. “What would it mean to take Martin Luther King’s legacy, take a chisel and finish his unfinished work? There is work left to be done.”
Pierce said those in attendance should carry on the legacy of not just King, but other civil rights leaders including Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin.
“The baton is passed to you,” Pierce said. “Carve new dreams out of the rock. Make the unfinished house a home for all.”
Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty said the attendance and enduring popularity of the annual celebration shows the how meaningful it is for the community.
“The words of Dr. Pierce hit home for everyone in this room, the struggle of building community,” Dougherty said. “And I can’t say enough about the pastors who spoke.”
Dorothy Hollowell, English professor at the County College of Morris, said she has been a supporter of the event for three decades.
“It’s started in the basement of the Church of the Assumption in Morristown, and I followed it from 100 people to 500,” Hollowell said. “It’s a wonderful way for the community to come together on common ground and let the world know we can work together, eliminating divisive forces that may separate us, not just racially but ideologically and religiously.”
Hollowell said the breakfast showed there is hope that King’s dream will be fulfilled.
“We are all builders,” Hollowell said. “We all have elements to contribute to his house so that we can complete it. If not in our lifetime then generationally.”
Following the two-and-a-half-hour celebration, many in attendance went to a joint noon service at Calvary Baptist Church.
Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6336; mizzo@GannettNJ.com