'He passed the baton to you and I': MLK Day celebrations inspire need to keep working toward equality

Wendy Rhodes
·3 min read
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Hundreds of people joined together at events in Palm Beach County on Monday to reflect on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King., Jr. and discuss work that remains to achieve racial equality in America.

“We’ve come a long way, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” Boynton Beach Vice Mayor Woodrow Hay told a crowd at an event in Sara Sims Park. “Right now, our voting rights are being attacked. We must stand up and fight. We must let them know that we will not stand for it. We didn’t get here just to go backward.”

Hay said it is up to each individual to carry on King’s important work.

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“Martin Luther King was not just for African Americans, Martin Luther King was for all people,” Hay said. “When he got to the finish line, he passed the baton to you and I. When we come together, we can do anything. It’s only when we begin to separate ourselves that we begin to fail and go backwards.”

Nova Southeastern University students from the Student National Medical Association carried signage in the parade along North Federal Highway during a Martin Luther King, Jr., Day parade in Boca Raton, Fla., on Monday, January 17, 2022.
Nova Southeastern University students from the Student National Medical Association carried signage in the parade along North Federal Highway during a Martin Luther King, Jr., Day parade in Boca Raton, Fla., on Monday, January 17, 2022.

Artistic performances included the singing of the Black National Anthem and an impassioned, one-woman dance to the reading of the Useni Eugene Perkins children's book, “Hey Black Child.”

The family-friendly event featured about 30 booths dedicated to non-profits and community organizations, with the Boynton Beach Fire Department passing out plastic fire hats and the Boynton Beach Police Department giving out toy police cars.

James Saint Jean, 5, of Fort Lauderdale, attends the Boynton Beach Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration at Sara Sims park.
James Saint Jean, 5, of Fort Lauderdale, attends the Boynton Beach Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration at Sara Sims park.

Children’s activities included face painting, foam sword fighting and a bounce house, the latter of which captured the attention of 5-year-old James St. Jean of Fort Lauderdale.

“To celebrate all the fun stuff to play with,” he said, doing handstands, of the idea that the event centered around the bounce house.

In Boca Raton, residents, visitors and community leaders marched from the Martin Luther King, Jr. monument to the Mizner Park Amphitheater, where the crowd enjoyed singers, dancers, music, food trucks and speakers such as Rabbi Rony Keller of Congregation B’Nai Israel.

Minister Charles Cocklin of Breaking the Chains Outreach Ministry in Boca Raton, Fla., talks to the crowd at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in the historic Pearly City neighborhood before the parade south along North Federal Highway to Mizner Park during a Martin Luther King, Jr., Day event in Boca Raton, Fla., on Monday, January 17, 2022.
Minister Charles Cocklin of Breaking the Chains Outreach Ministry in Boca Raton, Fla., talks to the crowd at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in the historic Pearly City neighborhood before the parade south along North Federal Highway to Mizner Park during a Martin Luther King, Jr., Day event in Boca Raton, Fla., on Monday, January 17, 2022.

“Although we are saddened that Dr. King was taken from this world far too early, and our nation denied decades more of his service, may we be comforted that his unfinished work continues today,” Keller said.

A performance by the Afrique Ngozi Dance and Drum Troupe stole the show, with girls in traditional African garb performing interpretive dances, such as one to music intertwined with King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and one to the Langston Hughes’ poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.”

Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer pronounced the day to be Dr. Martin Luther King Day and the King Day of Service in Boca Raton, encouraging all residents to honor King’s “lasting influence on our nation and the world and to pay tribute to his life and work by participating in community service projects on this day and throughout the year.”

Sofia Scher, Boca Raton Interfaith Youth Organization
Sofia Scher, Boca Raton Interfaith Youth Organization

It is a lesson that Sofia Scher, 15, of Boca Raton learned four years ago when she joined the Boca Raton Interfaith Youth Association.

“At BRIYA, we’re all about justice for all,” she said of the kids’ organization focused on celebrating diversity. “It’s for equality, not race or religious background — just to make another human connection we can relate to.”

In West Palm Beach, the annual MLK Interfaith Breakfast was held at the Bryant Park Amphitheater this year and transformed into a brunch. The program featured youth performers, from pre-school to high school, along with music and inspiration from interfaith leaders in the tradition of Dr. King, Catholic and Protestant, Jew and Gentile.

Tonight, the public will gather near the steps of City Hall for a Civil Rights sings-along with Mel & Vinnie, followed by the highlight of the day, the 28th annual Candlelight March through downtown Lake Worth Beach.

wrhodes@pbpost.com

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Martin Luther King Day events inspire, engage in Palm Beach County