Macomb County Ministerial Alliance holds annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Fellowship Breakfast

A lesson about segregation




Remembering a dream

Macomb County Ministerial Alliance holds annual
Martin Luther King Jr. Community Fellowship Breakfast

By Sarah Cormier
C & G Staff Writer

MACOMB COUNTY — Intent on never forgetting Martin Luther King Jr.’s important message, the Macomb County Ministerial Alliance held a gathering to remind others of what the activist stood for.

The fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Fellowship Breakfast took place on Jan. 18, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, at Penna’s of Sterling in Sterling Heights. Local politicians, school officials, students and community activists attended the event.

Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel was the keynote speaker, and spoke about how Martin Luther King Jr.’s work is what has led to the first black president, Barack Obama, being elected in 2008.

“We watched together as America judged a man based solely on the content of his character. One small part of Dr. King’s dream became reality,” said Hackel. “It is beyond question that President Obama’s election would not have been possible without Dr. King’s sacrifice and his unwavering commitment to equality.”

Hackel also spoke about the importance of parents setting a good example for their children and how being a mentor to a young boy in Clinton Township has meant a great deal to him over the years.

“Seeing him waiting anxiously on his front porch for me to arrive, looking to see if I was watching when he catches a football or makes a tackle, looking for comfort when he misses a ball pitched to him or talking non-stop about his experiences at school and interactions with his classmates. Just knowing he is looking to make someone proud of who he is, makes me realize how important we as adults are to the children we are all responsible for,” said Hackel.

The program also featured speeches on what Martin Luther King Jr. means to several Macomb County preachers who are part of the Macomb County Ministerial Alliance, a group that formed in 2001 to work on social and economic equality for all residents in the region. Moreover, the audience saw various musical performances, including one from the Macomb County Ministerial Alliance Mass Choir.

Awards were handed out — Hackel received the Distinguished Public Service Award after his speech — and the Rev. Alexander Minor Jr. of Turner Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Mount Clemens received the Distinguished Warrior Award.

Communities in Schools, the organization that took over the Cairns Community Center in Mount Clemens when it was in danger of shutting down, was also honored at the ceremony for their work.

“Communities in Schools … stood up and said ‘Yes, we will help you stabilize this center for the kids,” said Greg Murray, spokesperson for the Macomb County Ministerial Alliance.

“There are hundreds of children who have received services … that otherwise would have had to do without,” added Murray.

Local children who attended the event were then taken on a bus ride to the Cairns Community Center for a field trip, where the facility was segregated for students to learn about what life was like before the civil rights movement.

“They will come out with a better understanding of why the day is celebrated,” explained Murray.

Students were given a black ribbon or a white ribbon to determine which race they would represent. Various places in the Cairns Community Center were segregated, such as water fountains, as was the bus ride on the way there.

“There are a number of people who have only an intellectual understanding of what Martin Luther King Jr. was fighting against and this brings it a lot closer to a real experience,” said Murray.