FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
The first step of rebuilding excellence is recognizing its death, a local youth minister told McNamara Headquarters Complex employees Jan. 21 during an observance honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
“You can’t fix what you don’t acknowledge is off,” Denzel Goodlin said, adding that individuals must be intentional about renewing excellence and lean on positive and diverse influences.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemorates the civil rights activist’s footprint in voting rights and fair housing and his peaceful call for an end to racism and segregation. Despite his and others’ progress, strife persist, Goodlin said.
Stressing the power of positivity, Goodlin said what people consume becomes evident in how they live; and what people emanate, they absorb.
“You need a team that will support you and cheer you on. You need folks who see challenges as opportunities for growth and not obstacles to complain about. You need stuff that keeps you pressing,” he said.
A range of formative figures and communities inspired King as he wielded faith and nonviolence against injustice. His spiritual journey was partly inspired by Benjamin Elijah Mays, former president of Morehouse College, an all-Black university where King was inspired by fellow social activists. Others who shaped King’s principles and conduct include theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, Mahatma Gandhi and Howard Thurmond. Influential communities in King’s life included the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Everyone has a hand to play in other people’s livelihoods, Goodlin said, adding that there’s no room in excellence for racial bias.
"To be excellent, there is no room for misogyny and cultural supremacy. The truth of your story and truth of our collective formation is its shaping by diverse persons and communities. We must never forget and have a responsibility to remember,” he said.
Defense Logistics Agency Director Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly noted that this year would’ve been King’s 96th birthday.
“He brought hope and healing to America and strength of purpose to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s through his courage, compassion and eloquence. Our observance is not only time to honor his impact on our nation, but also to acknowledge his personal resilience and strength to define his journey and his character.”
This year marks the 60th anniversary of three separate marches from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery that became a collective turning point in the fight for civil rights and racial equality. King led the 54-mile march with other civil rights leaders including John Lewis. During the first march, participants were violently attacked by state troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. King’s involvement in that and subsequent marches helped galvanize public opinion and pressured the federal government to act, Simerly said.
“We’re indebted to Dr. King and many others who sacrificed everything to help our nation confront injustice and inequality,” he added.
Two contestants of an annual MLK oratorical competition for youth in Prince William County, Ben and Naomi Samuel, also spoke. Ben pointed to the guiding principles set forth in the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution: to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty.
To continue moving toward a more perfect union, Ben suggested that Americans engage one another respectfully during disagreements and focus on meaningful, action-driven dialogue as they work toward mutual solutions.
“As Amanda Gorman stated in her [2021] inaugural poem, our nation is not broken, but unfinished. We still have work to do,” he said.
Naomi emphasized the need fairness, especially in education and opportunities for future generations.
The event also featured performances by contemporary R&B and gospel artist Joseph George III, who sang the “A Change is Gonna Come” and the national anthem.