‘Living together as brothers’
The 2019, 28th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Observance in Rappahannock County is now in the history books, as they say.
Though the weather outside was frightful, the MLK observance inside the Little Washington Theatre, was oh, so, delightful! It’s always a difficult decision when planning winter events in our area. To cancel or not to cancel. The weather forecasts seemed to change hourly. So, when your guests from over two hours away confirm they'll be there; it's on with the show!
First and foremost, thanks to Dr. Amy Tillerson-Brown, for an exemplary job as guest moderator, history professor from Mary Baldwin University, Staunton. Her comments were informative, thought-provoking and timely. At one point during the Q&A, I stated, “I’d like to take your history class!”
Special thanks to our musical guests, Ms. Marie Davis Roman, and Mo Safren. They both were exceptional in their selections. The panelists: Mr. Bob Chappell, former School Superintendent, RCPS, Ms. Lucy “Pud” Maeyer, current School Board member, students, Mari Tisera, Wakefield Country Day School, and Terry Jackson, Jr., Eastern View H.S., thank you all for sharing your thoughts on the theme, “MLK: Status of the Dream: Where do we do from here,” including a review of Dr. King's Six Principles for achieving the “Beloved Community.” Your presentations were the heartbeat of the event. Thank you for your openness that helped achieve the “3CCourageous Community Conversation.”
Thanks to Mr. Thomas Lewis, Sperryville, who always comes prepared to videotape the program each year. To our M.C., Rev. Eugene Triplett, our Town of Washington and County elected Officials, thank you for your time and attendance. Of course, words cannot express our appreciation to Nancy Raines, who provides the venue, the Little Washington Theatre, each year.
To every attendee and every donor, on behalf of the Julia E. Boddie Scholarship Committee, we thank you and appreciate the community at large for your support. To our anonymous donor from the Town of Washington, your giving is not in vain.
Finally, but not last, thank you John McCaslin for covering the event and the excellent follow up story and photos in last week’s edition of the RappNews — you rock!
A dear friend shared with me some years ago, that she challenges herself to learn something new about King every year. I took that idea to heart and try to do the same. King's writings and teachings go far beyond his “I have a dream” speech (considered one of the top 20 writings of the 20th century). So, I'll challenge each of you as well to learn more about King next year. A quote that resonated with me this year is, “We must learn to live together as brothers, or we will perish together as fools.” King’s words still ring true today.
Til next year. Be a King.