‘We have come so far.’ MLK’s life celebrated in Miami on anniversary of his assassination

A little after 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Joseph Caleb Center buzzed with excitement.

Roughly 1,000 people gathered in the Brownsville auditorium to commemorate the 55th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, and from the very onset of festivities, the event resembled a church service. And considering the impassioned speeches that often resembled sermons and the amount of gospel sung, that’s essentially what it was.

“All that you need,” the Grammy award-winning gospel singer Tasha Cobbs-Leonard belted out from the stage, singing her song “The Moment.” “It can happen right now.”

Organized by the Martin Luther King Economic Development Corporation along with Miami Commission Chairwoman Christine King and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Keon Hardemon, the 18th annual Reclaim the Dream Candlelight Memorial Service and Gospel Concert honored the Civil Rights movement martyr with a celebration fit for a king. Cobbs-Leonard blessed the crowd with a melody as did Grammy-nominated gospel artist Reverend Luther Barnes and singer Lisa Powell. Elected officials from County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to Hardemon to King spoke. The crowd itself praised the Lord with all their hearts as if Easter Sunday came five days early.

“This is about honoring a great man, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., this is about honoring his legacy,” Hardemon said, addressing the crowd. “But this is also about honoring you: the people who saw it, that felt it, that experienced what it was to struggle in these United States of America. And yes: We have challenges ahead of us but we have to keep up the fight.”

The festivities were a culmination of everything King stood for: faith, fairness and, of course, justice. “Amens” and “hallelujahs” often erupted from the crowd. A recitation of the famous “I Have a Dream Speech,” which is said to have been rehearsed at the Hampton House, drew gasps from the crowd. Even the recent indictment of President Donald Trump managed to come up.

“We have come so far but the indictment and arrest of Donald Trump,” King said, the audience erupting in applause. “He has taken us back so far but we have to stand united. We don’t have a choice. And our voice is our vote.”

Tuesday’s scene was far from what happened more than half a century ago. The assassination of King, who was struck down at the age of 39, sent shock waves across America’s Black communities. Uprisings erupted in more than 100 cities over the loss of the man who advocated peaceful protest as the path to racial equality. The resulting riots were a release of the anger from centuries of oppression. Riots, after all, were “the language of the unheard,” as King put it.

“To some extent, Dr. King has been a buffer the last few years between the Black community and the white community,” a then-26-year-old Jackson said in 1968. “The white people do not know it, but the white people’s best friend is dead.”

One of the most powerful moments of the night came midway through the presentation during the candlelight prayer. Upon entry, everyone had been given flameless candles and at the direction of Pastor Gaston Smith, the crowd raised the candles above their heads as Martha Whisby-Wells launched into “This Little Light of Mine,” a subtle reminder that even the tiniest acts of kindness could help change a nation.