The Roanoke Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference hosted a remembrance ceremony on the 58th anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Saturday, April 4 at The Dumas Center.
The program began with a moving presentation of a portion of Dr. King’s Mountain Top speech given on the evening of April 3, 1968 in Memphis, TN, by students Selina Burch and Xen Wajed. The students shared Dr. King’s recollection of a letter he received from a student following the stabbing attempt on his life in New York. In that the letter, a ninth grader noted that had Dr. King sneezed, he would have died and she was glad he had not sneezed. Burch and Wajed reiterated Dr. King’s relief that he survived the attack and so was able to continue his work in the Civil Rights movement. The students concluded their presentation with Dr. King’s resounding “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!”
Following the invocation and litany, Dr. NL Bishop introduced the keynote speaker, Rabbi Howard Stein of Temple Emanuel Synagogue in Roanoke. Rabbi Stein delivered an inspirational and poignant address recalling how Dr. King encouraged folks to assume the responsibility of working to turn the statement in the Declaration of Independence that all people are created equal into reality. Rabbi Stein also noted the concurrent celebrations of Passover and Easter should serve as further impetus in working for equality and justice.
Mrs. Mignon Chubb-Hale led a moment of silence to remember recently deceased members of the Chapter and recently deceased members of the SCLC, including Rev. Jesse Jackson. Dr. Perneller Chubb-Wison, President Emerita of the Chapter, Bishop Edward Mitchell, President of the Chapter, and Rabbi Stein then laid a wreath at the statue of Dr. King at MLK Plaza at Henry Street.
