BY MICHELE MILLER
The weather was kind on Monday, but the times haven’t been.
On a sunny day, in the pall of pandemic and the recent carnage in the nation’s capital – one that was described by Washington D.C. police officer, Daniel Hodges, as “a white nationalist insurrection ” – the sure and steady message espoused by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. prevailed during a short march from a church on Pine Hill Road, past the cemetery, to what once was a black-only school in Port Richey.
The annual celebration, sponsored by the African American Club (AAC) of Pasco, was smaller than in past years when hundreds, including the mayor of New Port Richey and other local dignitaries, offered a show of unison while marching down the hill to the historic landmark that, until 1967, was the Booker T. Washington School.
In recent years it was standing room only as representatives of various religious organizations took turns at the lectern, giving rise to the words of Dr. King Jr., while speaking to the reverend’s higher legacy.
Traditionally youth members would offer a performance, sing songs or perform a play they had been rehearsing for weeks.
There would be club announcements touting the club’s youth scholarship program. Ephraim Livingston, who now serves as vice president of the club, would wax poetic about his wife, Michelle’s famous recipe, while drumming up entrants for the annual Sweet Potato Pie contest. Refreshments and fellowship would follow.
As with every thing else in this time of pandemic, this year’s celebration was different.
About 50 people – all wearing masks – gathered in the parking lot to have their temperatures taken before the march. Many long-time attendees were absent, kept away because of the pandemic. There were no dignitaries in attendance. No gathering in the hall. No guest speakers. No youth presentation. No refreshments.
But there was still a unifying message that has long been at the core it all.
“If there was a ever a time we needed peace, it’s right now,” said AAC president Emery Ailes, noting that King was a peace proclaiming reverend before he was a doctor “who took his faith with him across bridges” and through the ensuing carnage surrounding the Civil Rights movement he helped to lead.
Love was at the center of that faith, said Ailes who teaches humanity and religious studies and serves as Coordinator of the L.I.F.E. program for the Global and Multicultural Awareness/Equity Services at Pasco Hernando State College.
And even though this year’s celebration was different, he said “It was none-the-less significant.”
Monday’s modest gathering, he pointed out, was attended by a diverse group led by local youth, some brought to the event by their parents for the first time.
One couple said they drove from Wesley Chapel after finding the event advertised on bideninaugural.org. Another, who identified as a transgender woman, said she came to promote support and love for the transgender community. Rob Becker, a repeat attendee, raised a hand to show the continuing support from the Jewish Community Center of West Pasco.
“This circle we’re forming today is symbolic of the unity we should have not only in our own community, but in the world,” Ailes told the marchers before sending them out on a mission of care.
As part of their participation in the annual Day of Service, attendees were encouraged to take one of 36 backpacks filled with toiletries, socks and shelf-stable food, and hand it off to homeless individuals in the community, all within a two-hour time frame.
And while there was no youth program, the few who attending the march offered inspiration for the future, especially when asked to speak their thoughts on Dr. King.
All reflected on the power of peaceful protest, Ailes said, noting that the message came through strong even in a time when mention of the names George Floyd and Trayvon Martin give rise to fear for young, black men growing up in America, and anger within the Black Lives Matter movement over incidents of police brutality and racially motivated violence against Blacks.
“What did these young people say?” Ailes asked. “They said Dr. King, for them, practiced nonviolent, peaceful protest. That we can take care of our differences in non-violent ways.”
“I translate that to “love.”
For information of the African American Club of Pasco events and membership, check out their website and Facebook page.
Related: Pasco still marching to the message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Michele Miller, Tampa Bay Times, 2020.
