Alexandria honored the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with song, dance and poetry, as well as a thorough rebuke of political violence and societal divisions under the Trump administration last night (Thursday).
The 53rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Program began with an impassioned invocation from the Rev. Quardricos Bernard Driskell of Beulah Baptist Church, who said King is remembered as “a prophet who named America’s sins and paid his life for it.” Driskell denounced current approaches to immigration enforcement, military spending and “taking over sovereign nations for profit, power and greed.”
“We remember the Rev. Dr. King, not as a dreamer safely buried in history, but as a prophet who warned this nation that racism, materialism and militarism would be its moral undoing,” Driskell said. “Dr. King said it plainly, and we dare to repeat it tonight, that ‘a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.'”
The night drew more than 150 attendees to the George Washington Masonic National Memorial for a night of social justice-inspired performances in King’s memory that touched on both solemn and uplifting sentiments.
In remarks, Mayor Alyia Gaskins reflected on what it meant to “love kindness and seek justice” through action, a directive her childhood pastor said every Sunday at church.
The Mayor said the present moment is “not much different than the time that Dr. King was living — a moment marked by chaos, division, racism, hatred” where community involvement is imperative.
“I hope that tonight, as we sit here, we don’t just celebrate, but as you sit here, you think about the action you can commit to,” Gaskins said. “You think about the work that you will do to help us stand in the middle of this mess; to speak truth to power; to stand in-between the extremes; to be willing to take hits from each side, but to push back on the polarization and the division.”
Gaskins, Councilmembers Jacinta Greene and John T. Chapman took turns reading portions of King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” alongside local students.
King penned the letter after his April 12, 1963 arrest during the Birmingham Campaign against racial segregation, a watershed moment in the Civil Rights Movement.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” Gaskins read. “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Alexandria has a long history honoring King. City civic leader Alice P. Morgan founded the inaugural ceremony in 1973 with support from Mayor Charles Beatley — 10 years before the national holiday and 30 years before its recognition in all 50 states.
Featured performances included “His Eye is On the Sparrow” sang by Stella Cisney, Maya Angelou’s “Caged Bird” recited by Emelia Dominguez and an interpretative dance inspired by King’s final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop“, by Samia Byrd and Kim Gordon. King was assassinated in Memphis less than 24 hours after the speech was delivered on April 3, 1968. He would have turned 97 yesterday.
Semone Byrd, daughter of MLK Committee Chair and Living Legend Rosa Byrd, asked the audience questions throughout the night, including how King has inspired them. Her sister, Patricia Byrd, said she grew up in a family that believed in King’s words.
“I’m really sad in this day and age that we’re going through what we’re going through,” she said. “I would never have expected this type of behavior from the United States. And I hate to get all choked up about it, but this is how I feel.”
Addressing the crowd, she added, “I’m so happy that you all are now here. We got all races of people here to celebrate, and it means a lot to us.”
The night concluded with a lively rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday,” a song written for King, by Lucas Griffin, and “We Are the World” by the Alexandria Children’s Chorus.
More events are planned over the next week to commemorate King, including a free Jazz Night at the Departmental Progressive Club (411 Gibbon Street) at 7 p.m. tonight (Friday).
Monday will bring service and volunteering. Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail plans to remove invasive plants near National Landing from 10 a.m. to noon. Also, the Alexandria Democratic Committee will volunteer at the Alexandria Community Shelter from 6:15-8 p.m.
