Remembrances held by community are fit for a King
Various events in N.B. commemorate life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer
To promote the message of peace, love and unity Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. portrayed throughout his life, the township of North Brunswick held various celebrations over the past few weeks to honor his legacy.

PHOTOS BY SCOTT FRIEDMAN Above: The Reading Fairy, also known as Rita Book, engages a crowd of children with a story about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during a program at Barnes & Noble on Route 1 in North Brunswick on Monday. Left: Emily Hatez (l), and her friend, Gwen Maroccia, get ready to chomp on a graham cracker American flag they made at the celebration.

OnMonday night, the Township Council and the Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Services held a community-wide celebration of King's life titled "We've Come a Long Way … Still a Long Way to Go" at the North Brunswick Township High School.

Stephanie Clark, the founder of My Daughter's Keeper, a North Brunswickbased agency dedicated to empowering young women and connecting them to other females in their lives, was the keynote speaker. An African American herself, she spoke of how King's memory must apply to all people, not just those of his race.

"This is a day to celebrate a leader who happened to be African American but who represented all people," she said.

Clark said that the majority of King celebrations feature black speakers, participants and audience members, although it would be just as appropriate to have Asians, Indians, Latinos or whites involved.

"It is rather strange to me, … as if AfricanAmericans were the only people to benefit from Dr. King," she said.

She said that the holiday needs to be more inclusive, becoming more reflective of King's work to provide harmony among all ethnic groups. She rhetorically asked for residents to imagine a world without marches for equality, without desegregated schools and without the sacrifice of personal safety to stand up for what a person believes in.

"Do you really think the township of North Brunswick [and elsewhere] would have become so diverse and welcoming to people of color?" she asked.

Clark then went on to suggest a progress report King would complete for the world today. She said King would grade President George Bush a "D" for creating a war that has taken so many lives, and for "sacrificing so many to gain so little in return."

She said King would grade Sudanese leaders a "D" for the genocide in their country, and for taking so many innocent lives of people who look just like them.

"What gives man the right to decide whose life is valuable … for the sake of money and greed?" she said.

She said King would grade the prosecutor involved with the Jena Six case in Louisiana a "D," in which six black youths are charged with the beating of a white teenager even though there were racially biased crimes occurring against black students prior to the incident. She said King would ask the prosecutor if the proposed punishment fits the crime, and if the same actions would be taken if the white boys were being tried.

She said King would grade gang members a "D" for the belief that taking the life of someone over a misspoken word or wrong color is honorable and appropriate.

"Why have you taken my life's work in legacy in vain?" she proposed King would ask the gangs.

Clark then answered the question, why not grade everyone an "F"? She said that "Dr. King was a great man of passion and a great man of hope in people" and that he believed in hope even during times of war, turmoil, genocide and injustice.

Clark continued by asking the community to think of how King would grade them if he had asked what they had done to continue his legacy.

"In our nation's progress report, I think Dr. King would say, 'We've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go,'" she said.

Aside from Clark's speech, there were several other representations to honor King. Clark's daughter, Daphne, sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which is also known as the black national anthem. The Dream Team performed two dance numbers with the accompaniment of the North Brunswick Project LEAL drummers, led by ViragoMusic. The New Destiny Family Worship Center Praise Unlimited Choir, under the direction of Kim Davis, sang two songs. The high school'sAfricanAmerican Club, led by advisers Tamara Francis and Dana Shelton, performed a skit in which protesters marched and King spoke from a jail in Birmingham, Alabama.

Mayor Francis "Mac"Womack then addressed the High School Commons, saying that King should also be remembered for his time before the civil rights movement, when he began his life's work in small meetings in small churches. He asked North Brunswick to have the courage to come together and take step after step to make the town, the state and the world a better place.

"Dr. King had the ability - probably more, the courage - to time, after time, after time, to choose courage and do the right thing," he said.

The Rev. Dariaus Enlow, of New Destiny, ended the celebration with a prayer, asking residents to ponder the words they heard and to add peace and proclaim unity "so that one day at a time, one week at a time, in months, perhaps even years, we can make this world a better place."

Other King Day celebrations

Also on Monday, Barnes & Noble held a celebration event with The Reading Fairy of North Brunswick. Tracy Brown spoke to children ages 3 through 9 about King's philosophy using her Rock, Read & Eat! Program. She read a picture book about King, played music and prepared kosher American flag cookies.

In addition, Linwood Middle School displayed a "Hand in Hand for Justice" exhibit, sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission, over the past few weeks. The exhibit featured highlights of King's career and of Jewish involvement in the civil rights movement.

"It is not only that anti-Semitism is immoral, though that alone is enough, it's used to divide Negro and Jew, who have effectively collaborated in the struggle for justice," King once said.

There will be a presentation for the middle school seventh-graders on Jan. 29 by Key Arts Production titled "King's Dream," which is a multimedia presentation on the life of King and the civil rights movement using film footage, archival photographs and historical information.

The school also received a proclamation from the Township Council on Jan. 14 to commemorate King's birthday.

In addition, Linwood and the township elementary schools participated in the township's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Creative Arts Contest, sponsored by the Arts & Humanities Committee. The winners were:MayaWooten, Oikshika Ghosh Ray, Renee Hales, Katie Panitch, Alexis Simmons,MalcolmWooten,MilesWooten, David Amiel-Preston, Emily Conroy, Arlene Luna, Letticia Mendez, Michael Sukrham, Moksh Gudala, Jordan Fisher, Nathan Koroma, Alex Sanducu, Brianna Hanson, Dana Drinkard, Collin Thomlinson, Akram Baig and Irvan Khan.