Martin Luther King Jr. remembered at Washington service
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
The Rev. Kenneth L. Huston, pastor of First Church of God in Christ Ministries and president of the Allegheny East Branch of the NAACP, was the keynote speaker Sunday at a Martin Luther King Jr. celebration sponsored by the NAACP Washington Branch at Nazareth Baptist Church in Washington.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Howard Anderson, deacon at Nazareth Baptist Church and NAACP member, speaks during the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration sponsored by the NAACP Washington Branch at the Nazareth Baptist Church in Washington on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Howard Anderson, deacon at Nazareth Baptist Church and NAACP member, speaks during the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration sponsored by the NAACP Washington Branch at the Nazareth Baptist Church in Washington on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019.
Ninety years after the birth of Martin Luther King Jr., and 50 years after his death, “hate has reared its ugly head,” the keynote speaker said at a Sunday service in Washington commemorating King’s life and achievements.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
The Rev. Kenneth L. Huston, pastor of First Church of God in Christ Ministries and president of the Allegheny East Branch of the NAACP, was the keynote speaker Sunday at a Martin Luther King Jr. celebration sponsored by the NAACP Washington Branch at Nazareth Baptist Church in Washington.
The Rev. Kenneth L. Huston, the pastor at the First Church of God in Christ in Greensburg and president of the Allegheny East branch of the NAACP, told the congregation at Nazareth Baptist Church in Washington that Pennsylvania is “home to some of the most prolific hate groups,” and “we must have a serious conversation about hatred.”
The Sunday afternoon service, sponsored by the Washington branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was one of hundreds happening across the country ahead of Monday’s federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Huston pointed out that he had been taught about King while growing up and praised him as “one of the most prolific civil rights leaders of the country.” Ironically, amid a monthlong federal government shutdown, Huston said, “This whole nation should just shut down. Everything should cease in honor of MLK.”
The Rev. Eugene Beard Jr., the pastor of Nazareth Baptist Church, also honored King and his legacy.
“I don’t say the word ‘great’ lightly,” he said. “But Dr. King was a great, great man. He knew his life was probably in jeopardy. But he carried on. I’m so happy we are celebrating this great man.”
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
The Rev. Eugene Beard Jr., pastor of the Nazareth Baptist Church and NAACP executive committee member, speaks as the master of ceremonies at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration sponsored by the NAACP Washington Branch at the Nazareth Baptist Church in Washington on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019.
The Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott of 1955 and 1956, which catapulted King into the national consciousness, was cited by the Rev. Dr. Kary Williams, the pastor of St. Paul AME Church in Washington, as an example of how contemporary challenges can be approached.
“They were determined,” he said. “They were not going to quit. It was not about them. It was about their children and grandchildren. And every child in the nation.”
Today’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be the 34th since the first federal holiday honoring King in 1986. All 50 states have recognized the King holiday since 2000.