MLK CELEBRATED
St. Paul speaker cites continuation of racism
From left, Amira Afolabi, 11, of the East End; Erika Doerue, 11, of South Park; and Clarisse Perleback, 6, of the East End, perform with the Hope Inspirational Dancers of St. Mary Magdalene Parish during a program Sunday after a Mass celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. at St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland.
The title of the day’s observances, “The Struggle Continues,” gave an indication of the tone in the words, song and dance at St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland on Sunday.
It was not so much a celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s accomplishments as a recognition of unfinished business more than 50 years after the death of the civil rights leader, who is honored on Monday’s federal holiday.
The annual event at the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh was organized by the St. Paul Cathedral Race and Reconciliation Dialogue Group. Participation included parishioners from the St. Benedict the Moor Church in the Hill District (part of Divine Mercy Parish) and St. Charles Lwanga Church in Homewood (part of St. Mary Magdalene Parish).
The dialogue group was created about two decades ago to foster better racial understanding in the cathedral parish.
The commemorations began at the noon Mass of Peace and Justice at the cathedral, which included music from the African American church tradition including “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and “There Is a Balm in Gilead.”
And they continued in a gathering afterward, which included Hope Inspirational Dancers from St. Mary Magdalene Parish and the honoring of winners of student contests for posters and essays centered on the theme of King and his legacy.
The keynote speaker, Martha Richards Conley, spoke on the continued and unrecognized legacy of racism. Ms. Conley was the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and to be admitted to law practice in Allegheny County.
“The struggle does continue,” she said. “The struggle to end slavery continues.”
If that surprised some listeners, Ms. Conley said she was surprised to learn it, too. She recalled learning in school that the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery.
But, quoting a human-rights law, she said that in fact, slavery “evolved” rather than ended because the amendment made an exception for involuntary servitude by convicted prisoners.
Ms. Conley noted the rise in prison labor in recent decades. That raises many problems, she said, including the perverse incentive for states to toughen sentencing laws and increase the number of inmates — a free workforce for which corporations pay the state, and pay less than they would to the workers.
“Now many corporations use prison labor,” she said. “And just
think of what that does to the people on the outside who can’t get jobs.”
Also at the event, student essay contest winners read their pieces.
Among them was Kiana Booth, an eighth grader from St. Maria Goretti School, who drew some loud “amens” and other affirmations from the crowd as she wondered aloud whether King would ask if he would waste “his time and energy” on a message that too many people have ignored.
“Racism is so strong and but yet so unnecessary,” she said. “We may have all come from different ships, but we are all in the same boat now. Everyone being equal should not have to be determined by the color of our skin. If God wanted us to be the same, he would have done so.”
She quoted King: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter most.”