MLK celebration spotlights community progress

The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen MLK PARADE: Participants perform while riding on the St. Mark Baptist Church's float during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in downtown Hot Springs Monday.
The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen MLK PARADE: Participants perform while riding on the St. Mark Baptist Church's float during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in downtown Hot Springs Monday.

Garland County residents celebrated the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday with a parade through downtown Hot Springs followed by a ceremony featuring music and impassioned speeches and sermons honoring the slain civil rights leader.

The Webb Community Center's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration commemorated the holiday for nearly three hours, with speeches and performances honoring King's legacy held in Horner Hall at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

The parade, which began at 10 a.m. on Whittington Avenue, made its way south through downtown Hot Springs to the convention center, and featured appearances by Hot Springs' police and fire departments, vans and floats representing local churches and organizations.

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The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen - The community service themed float by Living Waters Church of God in Christ

One, by Living Waters Church of God in Christ, featured different aspects of community service -- providing clothing, food to the hungry, education, and clean neighborhoods.

The ceremony began shortly after 11 a.m. in Horner Hall. In his opening statement, Brother Ted Marshall, one of the celebration's hosts, made it clear why everyone had gathered that day.

"We are here because of the efforts of a man who worked relentlessly for freedom," Marshall told the audience.

This year's theme, "Committed To Excellence In Community Service," was expounded upon in the keynote address, given by Brother Ricky Smith of Woodridge Street Church of Christ.

Smith spoke about the progress that has been made in the black community at large and spoke of steps that need to be taken to "be excellent" in one's community.

Some of the black community's problems Smith spoke of included crime and poverty, which he said are perpetuated by some of its residents leaving to the suburbs. He said these problems leave the community's youths vulnerable to drugs and violence.

Smith said the solution to this problem is leaders who "aren't in love with money, but with justice."

"The challenge today is to rise above the confines of our individual concerns," he said.

The other solution is the community learning to work together, Smith said, noting community-focused organizations, such as the Boys & Girls Club and the Webb Center, which work to unite the community's residents.

"If they learn to live together, they will be less likely to bully and victimize each other," Smith said. "We gotta give ourselves to this struggle together."

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The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen I HAVE A DREAM: Tyrone Burnell Jr. reads a part of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech in Horner Hall of Hot Springs Convention Center during the annual MLK celebration Monday.

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The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen IN HARMONY: The Dixie Harmonizers of North Little Rock's North Point Dixie Church of Christ performs in Horner Hall during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration Monday.

The acts leading up to Smith's address featured art that honored King, the Christian faith and black culture. Acts that the audience showed some of their most vocal appreciation for were gospel numbers performed by the Dixie Harmonizers of North Little Rock's North Point Dixie Church of Christ and Tyrone Burnell Jr., reading an excerpt from King's "I Have A Dream" speech.

In his closing address, Marshall put words from King's final speech in the context of the black community's present struggles.

"We are on the mountain top. We ain't to the promised land yet, but we're on our way. We will get there -- yes, we can, and we will," Marshall said, which was met with a standing ovation from the audience.

Smith said the celebration was important because it keeps King's "dream" alive, which is extremely important for the United States' black population today.

"We have come a long way, and I can attest to the fact that there have been a lot of improvements, but there's still work that needs to be done," Smith said. "That's the purpose of keeping the dream alive, keeping hope alive. It's to encourage people."

Local on 01/17/2017

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