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News | Jan. 29, 2020

MLK legacy celebrated at National Cathedral

By Richard Sanford, III

The Washington National Cathedral welcomed the family and supporters of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 19 to commemorate his legacy and remind the nation of the struggles that continue as individuals and communities fight for equality under the law.

The service featured excerpts from Dr. King’s letter written while he was jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, as well as performances from the Cathedral Band and the Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir.

Wife to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., known as the “first lady of civil rights,” Coretta Scott King and their eldest son, Martin Luther King III, spoke at the occasion. King III reminded the audience to continue striving to honor his father’s legacy of fighting racism, hate, inequality and xenophobia.

At Sunday’s ceremony, the son of Dr. King petitioned his audience. “Enough of the hatred. Enough of the misdirection, of the half-truths and whole lies.”

The national cathedral is the site of Dr. King’s final sermon before his assassination on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Despite the solemnity of the event, King III expressed his optimism for the future.

“The good news,” he said, “is that we’ve always been able to make a way out of no way. We’ve always known that a good day is on the horizon.”


Editor’s note: Richard “Rick” Sanford is an application support consultant (contractor) assigned to Defense Logistics Agency Information Operations in the Account Management and Provisioning System Application Support Team.