'Wake up': Frederick County leaders, advocates discuss work needed to honor MLK's legacy

Jan. 18—Dozens of community leaders, advocates, officials and legislators in Frederick County came together Monday evening to reflect on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and discuss the work that still must be done for his dream to be realized.

In years past, the event — held on the federal holiday created in 1983 to honor the civil rights leader and anti-racist activist — has been a potluck, but the ongoing pandemic pushed the conversation online. Still, organizers encouraged the approximately 50 attendees to "break bread" as they considered King's vision for the "Beloved Community," one where poverty, hunger and homelessness is not tolerated and racism and all forms of bigotry and prejudice have been eradicated.

Participants at Monday's event heard audio clips from King's 1967 "Where Do We Go From Here?" speech, which he delivered about a year before his assassination. Dr. Derek Shackelford, a city of Frederick alderman and pastor of Buckeystown United Methodist Church, then presented remarks that circled around the same question.

The fact King has a holiday named in his honor exemplifies the significant impact he had on humanity and the entire world, Shackelford said. But too often, he went on, remembrances of the pastor sanitize the way he lived his life and the values he held dear.

The most commonly quoted portion of King's infamous "I Have A Dream" speech are the three minutes where he imagines a world where his children will "not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Less discussed, Shackelford said, are the previous 16 minutes, where King proclaims that racial injustice needs to be eradicated and says America must come to grips with the true meaning of justice if it is to live up to its creed.

Shackelford reminded the event's attendees of other aspects of King's life: How the pastor was not allowed to preach from the pulpits of Northern churches because of the controversy that came along with his appearances. How he was arrested for civil disobedience and incarcerated for leading protest marches. How he spoke out against the Vietnam War and was wiretapped by the FBI, which branded him a communist.

King was stabbed at a protest march, his house was burned, his family consistently harassed, Shackelford said.

"For us to truly appreciate his life and work, we must go beyond the surface. Investigate the fabric of his very being," Shackelford said, referencing King's faith in God and "that radical revolutionary named Jesus Christ."

"This commitment to discipleship led to his love for humanity," Shackelford continued. "It was love that motivated him to do what he did and live the way he lived. It was love that kept him encouraged during the days of discouragement. It was love for winning a better world, a better America and the beloved community of humanity that he was willing to die so that many could live."

In his address to the event's attendees, Frederick Mayor Michael O'Connor also noted that King was not always as universally beloved and celebrated as he is today.

King's words were not comfortable for a great many Americans, O'Connor said. He was a controversial figure — a Gallup poll taken two years before his assassination found that more than 60 percent of the country's population viewed the man unfavorably.

"We certainly know Dr. King hasn't changed," O'Connor said. "So perhaps it's us who have changed and us who need to continue to change if we're to truly live the legacy that Dr. King has laid out for us."

County Executive Jan Gardner expressed that the county's government this year made "a lot of progress" in the area of equity — formalizing the creation of the Office of Equity and Inclusion and an advisory committee.

"I feel confident that working together, we can create a more fair and just and equitable community here in Frederick County," she said. "We owe a great debt to Dr. King, who bravely stood up against all injustices of his day. And we must continue to do the same as we see things like voting rights under attack in our country."

But the struggle continues, Shackelford stressed in his remarks. The "economic pendulum" continues to leave too many behind. People still "must be twice as good and work twice as hard to not have nearly as much."

King was fatally shot in Memphis, Tennessee — where he had traveled, Shackelford reminded attendees, to support striking city sanitation workers who weren't being paid a living wage.

"People living in poverty says so much about the priorities of a community and nation," Shackelford said. "There is a place for personal responsibility, but along with this must come economic justice that replaces greed and changes the system that protects the powerful."

Later, those attending Monday's event split off into small groups to discuss how their actions could advance King's goal of a Beloved Community. They returned with ambitions of examining their own biases and holding their communities to account, among other objectives.

In closing, Shackelford recounted all that King had accomplished before his life was cut short at the age of 39: He graduated at 19, pastored his first church at 25, earned his doctorate degree at 26, started the Southern Christian Leadership Conference at 28 and received the Nobel Peace Prize at 35.

"He accomplished all this while some of us make excuses why we can't do something, be involved in something, say something, write something or even text something that helps liberate our community and our people," he said.

While some may want to sanitize this man's legacy, Shackelford said, he will take the person who stood on the principle of love. And what he has learned from King's life is that love is an action word — something that should always be on display. So he chooses to love everybody, even his enemies.

"They say dreams are for those who are sleeping," Shackelford said. "But if we are going to truly honor Dr. King, we must wake up and then stay awake."

Follow Angela Roberts on Twitter: @24_angier