'Still United' looks back on legacy of Dr. King
"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'" - the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

PHOTOSBY EFF GRANIT staff The Rev. Dr. DeForest B. Soaries Jr. was the keynote speaker during the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration held at Linwood Middle School in North Brunswick on Friday. He stressed how those small in stature can accomplish great feats, much like King did throughout his life.

BY JENNIFER AMATO

Staff Writer

NORTH BRUNSWICK - "Still United," a celebration of King's life and message of equality, was presented by the Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Services at Linwood Middle School on Friday.

The Rev. Dr. DeForest B. Soaries Jr., the keynote speaker, stressed the ideals of King's work and how they can be implicated in today's society. The senior pastor from the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset described King's visit to his hometown when he was younger, although the future spiritual leader was more concerned with basketball, girls and sweet potato pie.

"I don't remember much about what he said as much as about what he did. He came to a small Presbyterian church and said a prayer. Everybody in that church walked a mile to town hall and he walked that mile with us," Soaries said.

The North Brunswick Township High School choir sang about hope and love during the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration held at Linwood Middle School in North Brunswick on Friday.

He said that although on television King looked to be about 7 feet tall, in person he was a man of relatively small stature, yet the importance of his life is that he was "more than just a little man [but] a great idea."

"Martin Luther King reminds us the best idea is that human beings are inextricably linked to one another and that somebody has to care," Soaries said, saying that ignorance leads to seniors not being able to pay taxes, bullies coming to school and petrifying students, and people sleeping outside the nation's capital while billions of dollars are being spent over in Iraq. "If nobody cared, we would live separate from each other."

He also questioned if celebrating King's birthday is a "waste of time" because the racial, political, ethnic and age divisions King tried to eradicate are not consistently heeded by society, especially with the desire for technological, monetary and military power. He specifically noted how after Sept. 11, 2001, the nation "came together right away but did not stay together very long."

"I don't speak to terrorism," he continued, "I speak to the potential we have to be connected, not just when we need to. What Martin Luther King's birthday reminds us is that we need to."

Instead, Soaries said society needs a time-out, much like an intermission during a sporting event, where the coach helps encourage his team and his players rejuvenate their team spirit.

"Martin Luther King's birthday is not really the game but a pause to figure out how well we treat each other, how well we respect each other. … Martin Luther King's birthday is not just the game, but is our community time-out … and we should make a commitment to a better quality of life and caring for each other and respecting each other," he said.

The Monmouth Junction resident, who lives with his wife and 17-year-old twin sons, also stressed that a great idea must be matched with commitment. He cited the recent college search by his children, looking at prestigious universities such as Harvard and Princeton. Instead, they were greatly impressed by a recruiter from a small, no-name college in North Carolina where the best dorms were reserved for freshmen, where there were free meals and snacks, where a golf cart was ready to take them on a campus tour, and where due to millions of dollars in renovations, free car washes were given to students on Saturdays because of the enormous amount of construction.

"This reflects their commitment to the students to try and attract them," Soaries said, noting how enthusiasm leads to a feeling of welcome which in turns results in feeling part of the community. "Dr. King reflected more than just caring, he reflected a committed life."

The former New Jersey secretary of state concluded his speech by saying, "People need to rise above indifference and make history so children look back and realize that they may be small in stature but they are great people because they have great ideas."

Those small in stature with great ideas were exemplified no better than the students who participated in and received commendations for an artwork and essay contest held in the township. Students from grades four through seven wrote poems, letters and essays, created sculptures or photographs and designed posters to reflect their understanding of King's work.

The award recipients were: Yasmin Rodriguez, Livingston Park Elementary School; Ruhee Hafsa, Shavani Gohel, Joanny Ferreiras and Benjamin Luciano, Parsons Elementary School; and Stephanie Zambo, Anish Roy, Abigail Bonett, Brenda Stolyar, Yieni Brima and Lillian Panitch, Linwood Middle School. There were also over 130 honorable mentions.

"The students start to realize this is not just a black and white issue. Parsons is so multicultural and my class is so diverse they start to see the cohesion and similarities between all of us," said Amee Eisenbeis, a fifth-grade teacher at Parsons who presents the project as a class assignment every year. "They get so much more out of it than just learning about Martin Luther King. … It's almost as rewarding as when they do well academically, maybe even more so. It gives them a sense of the world outside just math and social studies."

The evening also featured performances by the North Brunswick Township High School Choir, the New Destiny Family Worship Center Praise Unlimited Choir and the Project LEAL drummers.

There was also an opening and closing benediction by the Rev. Dariaus Enlow of the Family Worship Center, who stressed committing to each other on King's birthday as well as every other day, and that "with love and faith, one person really can change this world."

Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack took the idea one step further, relating it to the community that he lives in and presides over.

"This is a time to search our souls for what we believe in and what we know. We know in North Brunswick we have a long way to go to be [rightfully] treating each other," he said. "This year, this week, in the headlines we see, it is right to think about what all members of the community should be doing to honor Dr. King … and that we do what's right for each other in North Brunswick and what's right for each other in the world."

"Still United" was sponsored by the mayor, the Township Council and the parks department.