At the NAACP Jubilee Day event, Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea Sr., encouraged everyone to “let their ‘light shine’
Taking a cue from a well-known hymn, Mayor Lea urged people on Sunday to combat fear and division by letting their “light shine” and working together to better their community.
“There’s strength in numbers, and everybody can do something,” Lea said as he delivered the keynote address at the Roanoke Branch NAACP’s annual Jubilee Day celebration.
“As we look across our county, we’re seeing social and political issues dividing our nation,” he said. “We can’t fall into that trap… We’ve got to make sure we’re not caught up in that angry divide, because it paralyzes your thinking.”
Jubilee Day, held Sunday afternoon this year at the Community Action Center on Melrose Avenue, is a commemoration of the Jan. 1, 1863, signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Sunday’s event, which included song and prayer, reflected on the long struggle for freedom and equal rights.
“O Lord, we celebrate your strong hand of deliverance,” NAACP Youth Council member Maxwell Plummer said as he led the gathering in a call-and-response litany.
“We have seen your grace in the midst of life’s burdens.”
Lea, who last summer became Roanoke’s second Black mayor, reaffirmed the city’s commitment to being a welcoming and diverse community. He also urged people to keep working for positive change and find ways in their own life to help others and pointed to people like Jamice Rudd, a busy mother of five with limited means, who spearheaded an effort to help low-income seniors get eye and dental care. Rudd’s group has helped more than 250 seniors, and she’s driven clients to out-of-town doctor’s appointments at her own expense.
“She’s using what she has,” Lea said of Rudd, who was just named City Council’s Citizen of the Year. “She’s letting her light shine. Just think if all of us would allow our light to shine in that particular way.”
Lea, a minister, specifically challenged pastors to come to the table and engage in a dialogue with city leaders about how they can build a stronger, safer community.
Some neighborhoods struggling with crime and other issues have a church on just about every block, he noted.
“We’ve got to do better,” he said. “We’ve got to come together.”
Lea encouraged people to call him with ideas or even criticisms. Everyone, regardless of age or resources, has something to contribute, he said. “You’ve got a light. There’s something you can do with it, even if it’s calling me and telling me what I didn’t do. Call me. But there’s something you can do.”
Brenda Hale, just elected to her eighth term as Roanoke Branch NAACP president, said the group remains committed to working for change and equality.
“We will continue to move forward, because it’s for the beloved community,” she said, referencing the vision of Martin Luther King.
“Guess what? It takes all of us working to make that beloved community possible,” she added. “Let’s do it together.”
Refreshments were served before and after the celebration.
