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With music, readings and reflections, this year's celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a true salute to his life and legacy. BWHers gathered last week in Carrie Hall to commemorate the holiday at one of BWH's most moving and spirited events, hosted by Organizational Development, Training and Diversity Management and the BWH Association of Multicultural Members of Partners.
Robin Vann Ricca, director of Organizational Development, Training and Diversity Management, set the tone with an excerpt from Coretta Scott King's "The Meaning of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday." She read, "We commemorate on this holiday the man of action, who put his life on the line for freedom and justice every day, the man who braved threats and jail and beatings and who ultimately paid the highest price to make democracy a reality for all Americans."
In addition to honoring King, the event paid tribute to recently deceased Rosa Parks, who is credited with beginning the Civil Rights movement in 1955 by refusing to give up her seat on a bus. "It is no less than the belief in the power of the individual, that cornerstone of the American Dream, that she inspires, along with the hope that all of us - even the least of us - could be that brave, that serenely human, when crunch time comes," Vann Ricca quoted an essay by former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove.
In between reflections and readings, talented BWHers, including Melody King, Vivian Cooley-Collier and a capella group Undertone, sang, and nine year-old George Handy-Brown, son of NPR "All Things Considered" host Dalores Handy, played the cello.
Jonathan S. White reminded everyone of the challenges that face America today with his essay, "A Dream Eclipsed." Then, holding with tradition, 26 participants each read a segment of King's speech, "I Have A Dream." As the celebration closed, everyone joined hands and the deeply talented Cooley-Collier, accompanied by Paul White on keyboards, led the crowd singing "We Shall Overcome."