Lancaster – A group of Lancaster community leaders and
citizens gathered on a cold and snowy Sunday afternoon to honor the Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. In a ceremony organized by the Lancaster Inner-City
Group, Senator Smucker praised Dr. King as a man "gifted with moral purpose
and incredible eloquence who challenged us to achieve his dream of freedom
and justice for everyone."
The annual wreath laying and flag raising was held at the Martin Luther
King Memorial Plaza on Duke Street in Lancaster. Lancaster City Councilman
Nelson Polite and Councilwoman Patricia Coller placed a wreath in front of
the plaza to honor the late Dr. King. A flag designed by George Cooke was
also raised commemorating both the early struggle of African-Americans and
the hope all people have in America as championed by Dr. King.
Senator Smucker provided these words in honor of Martin Luther King at
the ceremony:
This is a day when we honor a great American, an
individual gifted with moral purpose and incredible eloquence, who in
turn challenged us to achieve his dream of freedom and justice for all.
We are blessed to have a birthright of freedom
in this nation. We are blessed to have leaders of the character and
capacity and courage that the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
displayed. We are blessed to have in our community so many willing to
assemble and recall the noble cause to which he devoted his life.
It is well that we honor the memory of the
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. But we must do more. We must renew
our commitment to his cause. His purpose was for justice to permeate
our laws, our attitudes, our actions. In the clarity of his view,
injustice anywhere was a threat to justice everywhere.
Regrettably, our nation has not reached the
promised land of universal justice and freedom that was Dr. King's
dream.
Yet, in the year of the 40th anniversary of the
tragic loss of Dr. King, America took a landmark stride on the journey
toward tolerance and equality. In a time of great need and greater
challenge, Americans, in overwhelming numbers, placed their hopes and
their trust in the hands of Barack Obama. This was not an accident of
history. It was the result of a lengthy and hard-fought series of
contests that saw millions compelled for the first time to participate.
Nor was this a singular triumph, the win of one
party, or one race, or one political philosophy. This was an American
triumph, evidence that when it matters, our nation can finally see past
the prejudices and fears that shackled us for too long.
There is still much for us to do, in the quest
for tolerance, justice, and equality. As we look across communities, it
is too easy to find walls to be torn down, divides to be bridged, hate
to be expunged from hearts. But we can be inspired and energized by the
historical milestone that the inauguration represents.
In the year of the 200th anniversary of the
birth of Abraham Lincoln, author of the Emancipation Proclamation, which
was cited in Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech delivered in front of
the Lincoln Memorial, Barack Obama takes the oath of office as President
of the United States.
From the new President and his advisors, to the
citizens in every community in this country, we should take to heart
these words from Dr. King: "The ultimate measure of man is not where he
stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at
times of challenge and controversy." Today we here commit, in these
times of economic and social challenge, to stand and to act, consistent
with the principles that Dr. King preached and fought for. The ringing
of freedom he heard remains a clarion call, not just an echo from the
past.
