‘We Are The Dream’ commemorative concert
courtesy of The Journal Gazette
The collection baskets that passed through the pews of Plymouth Congregational Church about sunset Sunday gathered more than monetary donations from those attending an event commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy.
Signed pledges of peace on cardstock joined the cash, providing a visual display of symbolic commitments to practice peace this year.
The “We are the Dream” program is annually held on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in partnership with multiple local congregations. Its purpose is to revisit and reaffirm King’s legacy and insights, said Robert Nance, church music director.
“ ‘He taught triumph over loss and love over despair,’ ” event narrator Janice Furtner said of King, quoting a poem by Maya Angelou.
More than 70 people braved the frigid temperatures to watch the program at the downtown Fort Wayne church. A livestream option was also available on YouTube.
The service paid tribute to King through a combination of narration and song featuring Heartland Sings vocalists. Speakers read from the late civil rights leader’s writings and speeches, including the iconic “I Have a Dream” address.
“We hope to provide a powerful experience that will endure in your heart and sustain each of us in the unfinished – literally unfinished – work to realize a just, peaceful and equal society,” said Nance, who is also founder and artistic director of Heartland Sings.
Furtner underscored that message about unfinished work during a segment about voter suppression. Literacy tests, moral character tests, property ownership requirements and poll taxes were used to prevent Black citizens from casting ballots before the Voting Rights Act of 1965, she said.
Decades later, “there is still work to be done,” she added. “Laws are still being passed across the country that make it harder to vote.”
The Rev. Bill McGill of Imani Baptist Temple quoted from King’s 1957 speech addressing equal voting rights.
“So long as I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to vote, I do not possess myself,” McGill said, giving voice to King’s words. “I cannot make up my mind. It is made up for me. I cannot live as a democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped to enact. I can only submit to the edict of others.”
Speakers encouraged attendees to adopt basic practices that were a significant part of the Civil Rights Movement. The hope is that such actions – including daily meditation, forgiveness and extending kindness to those expressing ill will – will improve society.
“We hope that our efforts today have rejuvenated your commitment to justice and peace as you seek to serve and live in this fragmented but interconnected world,” Nance said. “A world filled with injustice but empowered through the sacred spirited for solidarity with one another.”
