MAKING AMERICA GREAT
Rev. Curry uses Trump’s slogan to tout MLK’s values
Calling for a “revolution of values,” the Most Rev. Michael Curry challenged a sold out crowd at Boston’s 50th Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast to make the country great again by being “just” and “kind.”
“We need a revival of relationships, and a revolution of values,” said Curry, in his keynote address to the approximately 1,500 people at the Boston Convention and Events Center.
Paraphrasing French historian Alexis de Tocqueville, Curry said the country “will be great” when it is good, just and kind, drawing a thinly veiled reference to President Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan.
“America will be great when love is behind every law,” he said, inspiring cheers in an atmosphere he joked resembled a sermon. “… America will be great when America is true to the ideas that are behind it.”
The event honoring King featured a roundtable discussion between Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Gov. Charlie Baker and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, who addressed a moderator’s question about pragmatic, legal responses to contemporary challenges such as Black Lives Matter and the #MeToo movement.
Pressley, who received a standing ovation during introductions after walking the stage with a bald head just days after after announcing that she suffers from alopecia, gave a defense of identity politics.
“This federal government has created a category to further survey and police black activists called black identity extremism,” Pressley said, as some in the audience gasped. “Yes, I’m an extremist about loving my people.”
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Gov. Deval Patrick sent in video messages as both were scheduled to attend campaign events Monday in Iowa and South Carolina, respectively.
Marvin Gilmore, 95, a recipient of the ceremony’s Drum Major award for community service, co-founded the first black-owned commercial bank in Boston and provided anti-aircraft cover on the beaches of Normandy in World War II. The longtime community organizer fought back tears until the end of his acceptance speech.
“I say to myself, what have I achieved to deserve this long life?” Gilmore said. “What legacy will I leave for future generations? My entire life work has been dedicated to being a crusader for freedom, and to celebrate hope and opportunity for all people.”