It didn’t take long for the National Guard Armory to fill up with people Monday after marchers in the annual “Marade” arrived from Mt. Olive Baptist Church. More than 100 people filed into the facility to hear the King Day Celebration, an event of song and prayer with a special guest speaker to commemorate the life and accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr.
After an a cappella of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” came a prayer from the Rev. Kendall Land and a passage of scripture from the Rev. Erby Burgess. The Rev. Kyle Jones welcomed the audience, some of which had to stand because all seats were filled. Finally, Tia Thomas introduced the Rev. Claire Rhodes, co-pastor of West End Presbyterian Church.
She called the event a “celebration. This is an opportunity to look back as well as press forward. We have to ask ourselves: ‘Where are we today?’”
She recalled a trip she took to Africa in 1978 to an island where black slaves were captured and shipped to the United States in the 15th and 16th centuries. She was shown where the slaves’ living quarters were and other details like the shackles that were used to keep them captive while on ships.
“As I reflect on that trip, I see God’s sovereignty,” she said, noting that the higher power played in important role in African American history. Because of it, “We can be now where we are. Consider segregation laws today.” Had there not been such laws passed, she said, “The United States would look like a lot different place.”
She noted that when people receive good things — “fine houses ... and when our electrical gadgets and our clothes racks have multiplied, or silver or gold, our bank balances and share portfolios have multiplied, and all that we have has multiplied” — they tend to forget about God.
“Remember, (God) brought us from the Land of Darkness to the Land of Light,” she said. She urged that people work with their children and teach them the history. “It is our responsibility to work with our children, to teach the foundation that God brought us. God is our rock and salvation ... If we don’t teach them, the history will be quickly forgotten.”
There are two ways to look back on history, she said. First is “with regret,” a “dangerous” idea “because you’re seeking blame.” She used a metaphor to illustrate the second idea. The rearview and side-view mirrors on a vehicle “give perspective behind us and around us, but if you drive (using only) the rearview mirror, you will certainly crash.” She added, “We have to press on to the roll that God has called for us.”
Noting that racial lines were “not perfect then and are not perfect now,” she said forgiveness is the key to moving forward. And moving forward, she added, requires a plan. “A vision without a plan is a hallucination. A vision is a plan for action,” and it takes preparation. “Preparing to prepare is to prepare to fail.”
In conclusion, she said MLK’s legacy “became our foundation ... We need to renew the commitment to fulfill the foundation that MLK left us.”
Arkadelphia, Ark. —
