Echoes of past heard at King celebration

BELFAST – The evils of violence and racism that the late Martin Luther King Jr. fought to overcome are still at large, a group of midcoast residents noted Monday.

The 75 men, women and children who took part in the 15th annual Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration gathered at Post Office Square at dusk then marched by candlelight to the First Congregational Church on Church Street.

Those attending read from King’s writings and joined in singing civil rights songs.

There was also a moment of silence after organizer Percy Daley read a list of names of those killed while fighting for civil rights.

Belfast resident Kristen Robinson White noted similarities between observations King made during a talk in New York and the situation in the world today. She said King spoke of the war in Vietnam, and she cautioned that “if you substituted Iraq for Vietnam it would be right on track to what is happening at this moment.”

Others cited the growing number of Americans who are speaking out against the situation in Iraq, noting that hundreds of Maine residents joined war protesters in Washington, D.C., during the weekend.

“I believe that more than one-half the population of America does not want this war,” said Mary Hilderbrant. “This is a serious peace movement. I urge you all to work for peace, work for peace.”

Swanville resident Dan Horton, who said he has attended all but one of the King memorials in Belfast, urged listeners to remember how King approached his challenges through peaceful means.

He advised the gathering to “look at the acts of terrorism the same way Dr. King looked at civil rights. … We need to have the strength and courage to follow a man who defeated the acts of oppression and injustice of his day and move it to the 21st century.”