As always, a great crowd at the Martin Luther King celebration at the Second Missionary Baptist Church here Monday in Hutchinson. From great music from singers from Buhler High School and Hutchinson Community College to the local politicians giving the message of Dr. King, it proved to be very entertaining.
A number of individuals also read out loud the letter that Dr. Kin wrote to other black ministers while he was being held in the Birmingham, Alabama jail.
There were also local politicians who spoke including State Representative Jan Pauls who spoke of the peaceful change Dr. King believed in. She also asked the gathering for prayers as the state legislature works on some tough issues including school funding.
Also speaking was Mayor Bob Bush who spoke of some divisive issues that tend to separate things, how many on both sides of an issue are intolerant of each other and didn’t want to hear from the other side. He says Dr. King never attacked those who disagreed with him.
Also speaking was County Commissioner Brad Dillon and retired minister Reverend Mark Conard, formally with the First United Methodist Church.
And of course, there was the guest speaker, Andrea (A’Jay) Scipio, the Kansas State Equity Project Director who is from Topeka. She talked about Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream Speech.” She called him a drum major for justice, saying he had the instinct to lead. She also talked about his fighting for economic equality which she says is still a problem today. She says you have the right to live where ever you want, but many don’t have the money to live where they want. She says you’ll always be a dreamer till you wake up, take action and get involved.
If anyone was sleeping through the rest of the event, they weren’t when she came on. It was not only inspirational, but entertaining as well.