Speaker: Do the right thing in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King

Jan. 16—PLATTSBURGH — The theme of Monday's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration was simple: Do the right thing.

"One of my favorite quotes by Dr. King says, 'There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must take it because it is right'," Allison Heard, vice president of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at SUNY Plattsburgh, said during her speech as guest speaker at the celebration held at the St. John XXIII Newman Center.

"Obviously, if Dr King was speaking today, I think he would speak in more gender neutral terms and inclusive terms, but the essence of what he says is that at some point, we need to examine our context, examine our values and work together in unity and to move in the same direction to do what is right.'"

BACK IN PERSON

The celebration was held in person for the first time in two years after COVID-19 restrictions forced virtual ceremonies in 2021 and 2022. The event was filled with music from Dr. Dexter Criss and the MLK Singers, Andrea Ogle, Desiree Terrell and the Plattsburgh High School Select Vocal Ensemble.

State Assemblyman D. Billy Jones (D-Chateugay Lake) and City of Plattsburgh Mayor Chris Rosenquest also gave remarks, as did SUNY Plattsburgh President Dr. Alexander Enyedi, and Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor Michael Cashman served as master of ceremonies.

Heard said striving to attain Dr. King's hope of social and racial equality is commendable and is an effort that must be applied every day, everywhere.

"We move in so many directions, but you have to ask yourself, is it the right direction? Today is the perfect day for us to reflect upon this, because having a conscience is not enough. Wanting to do the right thing is not enough. Our actions must align with our conscience and we have to do the right thing," she said.

"Today is a perfect opportunity to spark our community, remind ourselves where we have been, and to reimagine where we want to go."

INTO THE FUTURE

Heard said she developed a three-part plan to help her put into action efforts to make the world a better place in the spirit of Dr. King.

To look at our own actions and understand more about who we are, to act and serve, and to work together with teamwork and unity were the three elements of her plan.

"Traditional forms of leadership, in my opinion, will not resolve the challenges that we have locally and nationally," Heard said.

"We need to embrace a non-traditional form of leadership that allows us to be transformative, allows us to catapult ourselves into the future."

Heard said such leadership is a practice, "based upon the belief that the most effective leaders are the ones who strive to serve others rather than to amass power for themselves... Plattsburgh is small enough where we can all work in unity towards a common vision really to make this city one of the best in New York state and one of the best in the country."

Mayor Rosenquest echoed Heard's thoughts when he recounted a story about when he recently saw local luminary Stanley Ransom and his wife out picking up trash on city streets one Saturday morning.

Nobody told them to, nobody asked them to, and they weren't looking for recognition or glory. They just did it because it was the right thing to do, Rosenquest said.

"I implore you, I invite you, I beg you, find that opportunity to put in the service whether it's recognized or not, or whether people see it or not," Rosenquest said.

Heard finished her remarks with a story about how her father was a young police officer in Chicago in the 1960s and was assigned to work an event where Dr. King spoke. He said the veteran white officers had joked that they did not want to work that event because they thought King could be assassinated and they didn't want to take a chance.

As a result, the rookies and the few black officers on staff were assigned to cover the event, during which protesters threw rocks and garbage at King and his entourage.

While the scene was ugly and a reminder that racism was alive and full-throated in the north just as it was in the south, Heard said her father told her that no matter what he saw or heard that day, it was worth it when Dr. King thanked the officers who showed up that day, and shook his hand.

"My father talked about that being one of his proudest moments as a police officer, protecting and serving, even though that assignment was meant to demean and possibly kill him," she said.

"So I use that story because I hope it leaves you with the thought that often times people will demean you. They will wish you ill will and they will wish you poor circumstances... But we can be our own best advocates and we can turn what does lead to something negative and degrading into something positive and useful.

"For it is only in being our own best advocate, then we can be great advocates for others."

E-mail: jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com

Twitter: @jlotemplio