January 21, 2015 at 1:40 p.m.
Northwoods celebrates legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Northwoods celebrates legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Today, that legacy lives on throughout the United States and abroad. Every January, Martin Luther King Jr. Day serves as reminder of King's message of peace and equality.
On Monday, a large crowd gathered at St. Augustine's Church in Rhinelander to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day. There were a number of speakers who highlighted some of the work they do throughout the calendar year that King would endorse.
Diane Reupert, social justice chair of the Northwoods Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, helped organize the event.
"It is the only one in the entire northern region of the state and we're very proud of that," she said. "Traditionally, we've only had an evening event, but we've already decided it's worthwhile to have it here too. It's really hard on a January night to come up to Woodruff."
The guild hall at St. Augustine's made for an appropriate home for the event. Father Dean Einerson, pastor at St. Augustine's, said he's thankful for the opportunity to support such endeavors.
"The guild hall has been the site for a lot of community events," he said. "It's been the site for dances, for kids to have a place for their own, and it's also been a site for workers to be able to come together, to organize or study the history of the working class in the United States. I'm glad that this congregation has been open to this sort of use for its hall. I think it reflects more than simple hospitality."
The Martin Luther King Jr. Day event was in its 11th year, and can make a serious impact. Reupert said last year's service produced some incredible results.
"Each year we engage a speaker to highlight one small aspect of what Dr. King's work has been," she said. "Last year, we invited Emilio DeTorre of the American Civil Liberties Union in Milwaukee. He spoke about Martin Luther King Jr.'s call to equalize voting rights for the poor and how it continues to be important today. As a result, of our invitation, he was the keynote speaker for a conference with the Lac du Flambeau tribe, and he worked with the (Arbor Vitae-Woodruff) schools and the seventh and eighth graders to enhance their understanding of the civil rights movement which was part of their curriculum."
This year's speaker was civil rights activist Judy Goldsmith. A Wisconsin native, Goldsmith has become a leading voice in the National Organization for Women in Washington D.C. She was elected to lead NOW in 1982 and worked to advance womens' rights. In 1983, she collaborated with Coretta Scott King for the 20th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's March on Washington.
In her speech, Goldsmith preached the importance of peace and acceptance, and the progress that still needs to be made. She highlighted a 24/7 Wall Street study released in December of 2014 that branded Wisconsin as the worst state for black Americans. The study said a number of factors worked against Wisconsin.
"Typical black Wisconsin households made roughly half the white median household income, a wider income gap than in the majority of states," it read. "Wisconsin's black residents were also far less likely than white residents to have health insurance, with a gap of more than 30 percentage points. Black Americans in Wisconsin are at a much greater risk of death than their white peers as well, which could be due in part to poor health coverage. ... Black children in Wisconsin had worse educational outcomes than both their white classmates and their black peers in other states. Milwaukee led the nation of most racially-segregated U.S. cities, which may actually make the problem in Wisconsin more a problem for Milwaukee, where the vast majority of the state's black population lives."
Goldsmith said it's important to make these issues a priority and get Wisconsin back to its more progressive roots.
That was the overarching message of Monday's event. The people who packed the guild hall preached the importance of equality, acceptance and peace for all. Dave Dall was on hand, performing a number of songs, including "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "If I Had a Hammer."
Einerson said King's message was heard loud and clear over the course of the event.
"Inequality is a matter of injustice and that injustice can be overcome by organizing to address the power imbalances that promote injustice," he said. "That's just as true for people of color or any portion of God's people who are pushed to the margin. We believe all of that because we believe every man and every woman was made in God's image and likeness. We can't aim to love God if we don't honor his presence in the persons with whom we share this life."
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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