I wrote this for the paper a few years ago, but it seems like a good day to run it again:
The scene of Martin Luther King, Jr standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, addressing a vast crowd alongside the Reflecting Pool, is locked in the national imagination.
In that scene, he is model of eloquence and courage, a polished speaker delivering an oration that will thunder through time.
But King wasn’t always a civil rights giant whose words resonated around the world.
There was a time in the mid-1940s when King was just another teenager picking tobacco in the Farmington Valley.
But historians say his two summers in Connecticut may have played a pivotal role in propelling King along a path to prominence.
For it was on his trips to Connecticut that he experienced a world that didn’t mandate segregation, where he could sit, worship and eat with white people without the specter of Jim Crow hanging over all.
And it was during his second summer in Simsbury that King decided he would become a preacher.
“The white people here are very nice,” the 15-year-old King wrote to his father in 1944, “We go to any place we want to and sit anywhere we want to.”
To his mother, King wrote, “I am doing fine and still having a nice time. We went to church Sunday in Simsbury and we were the only Negroes there. Negroes and whites go to the same church.”
King later wrote that he went to Simsbury just before going to Morehouse College “and worked for a whole summer on a tobacco farm to earn a little school money to supplement what my parents were doing.”
“One Sunday, we went to church in Simsbury, and we were the only Negroes there,” he wrote. “On Sunday mornings I was the religious leader and spoke on any text I wanted to 107 boys.”
To his mother that summer, King wrote that he’d had a day off so he went into Hartford with friends and “had a nice time there.”
“I never thought that a person of my race could eat anywhere but we ate in one of the finest restaurants in Hartford. And we went to the largest shows there,” he wrote.
King returned to pick tobacco again in the summer of 1947, when he “led religious service for his fellow student workers at a tobacco farm” in Simsbury, according to Clayborne Carson, director of the Martin Luther King, Jr Papers Project at Stanford University.
Carson said Friday that “about all we know” of King’s early forays to Connecticut comes from his letters.
It happened so long ago that few if any people have any memory of King from that summer, he said, and he would look skeptically at claims by others to recall much of anything about King in those days.
After all, he said, King was just a teenage boy at the time with “no real strong connections” to the area.
Other than the summers picking tobacco, Carson said, probably the only other times that King went to Connecticut were to give a speech or two. Connecticut Public Television’s Connecticut Journal determined recently that King spoke at least a dozen times at Yale, Wesleyan and in Bridgeport in the years after the Birmingham bus boycott.
King looked back on the first trip to Connecticut as a key time in his life.
He later wrote, in a passage published in his Autobiography a few years ago, “After that summer in Connecticut, it was a bitter feeling going back to segregation.
“It was hard to understand why I could ride wherever I pleased on the train from New York to Washington and then had to change to a Jim Crow car at the nation's capital in order to continue the trip to Atlanta.
“The first time that I was seated behind a curtain in a dining car, I felt as if the curtain had been dropped on my selfhood. I could never adjust to the separate waiting rooms, separate eating places, separate rest rooms, partly because the separate was always unequal, and partly because the very idea of separation did something to my sense of dignity and self-respect,” King wrote.
Carson wrote in a piece about King’s decision to become a minister that “a crucial period” in the young man’s decision-making “came during the summer of 1947” when he was in Simsbury.
“After several weeks of deliberation, he telephoned his mother from Simsbury to tell her of his intention to become a minister,” Carson wrote.
“My call to the ministry was neither dramatic nor spectacular," King wrote in a seminary application later. “It came neither by some miraculous vision nor by some blinding light experience on the road of life.”
“Moreover, it was a response to an inner urge that gradually came upon me. This urge expressed itself in a desire to serve God and humanity, and the feeling that my talent and my commitment could best be expressed through the ministry,” he wrote.
“I came to see that God had placed a responsibility upon my shoulders and the more I tried to escape it the more frustrated I would become,” King wrote.
He could not have imagined how great his responsibility would become or dreamed of well he would handle the challenge.
Connecticut, though far removed from the great trials of King’s life, was the third state in the country to set aside King’s birthday as a holiday, back in 1974, helping set the course for the creation of a national holiday to honor the civil rights leader
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Showing posts with label King Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label King Day. Show all posts
January 21, 2008
King Day ceremony in Bristol
By JACKIE MAJERUS
Press staff
BRISTOL – With song, dance, personal reflections and words of inspiration, a community celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day drew about 60 people to Memorial Boulevard School Monday.
"I am truly pleased," said Nicole Walker-Massari, president of the Bristol branch of the NAACP, which hosted the event. "We had a great time here."
Walker-Massari urged those who are not members of the NAACP to join the organization, which meets the second Thursday of the month in the Bristol Public Library.
"It's a matter of community," Walker-Massari said, adding that the $30 yearly membership costs about as much as a pair of shoes.
Speakers talked about gains made through the civil rights movement – and the hurdles still to clear.
"We all like to believe that we've taken great strides," said Mayor Art Ward. But he said, "We have a long, long way to go."
Ward said a look at the presidential race and the many questions of whether America is "ready" for a black president, a woman president or a Mormon president shows that people are still judging candidates on their skin color, gender and religion.
"The questions don't center on their ability to make decisions that ultimately affect the welfare of all of us," said Ward, or on the candidate's work or experience.
"It's quite obvious that we still do practice segregation in this country," Ward said. "Let us not become complacent in believing that our work is over. Mutual respect for all human beings will continue to be a work in progress. Mutual respect should be a goal for us all."
Bob Brown, who teaches at Tunxis Community College and initiated the school's African-American history class, talked about growing up in a Southern white family in the 1950s.
Some of his ancestors owned slaves, said Brown, who said it's not something he's proud of.
Brown called King "the greatest American in my lifetime."
While his family was "deeply sympathetic to the movement of social justice," Brown said he struggled to understand "the unfair advantage" that he enjoys as a white person.
"I have lived my life in a different place than my fellow citizens who are African American," said Brown.
The Rev. Stanley Kemmerer of Trinity Episcopal Church in Bristol recalled being among the "hordes" of people in Washington, D.C. in August 1963 when King gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech.
"It was as hot as today is cold," said Kemmerer, who said the experience put him "at the epicenter of history" and changed him forever, for the good.
Girls from the Mt. Zion Dance Ministry in Bristol offered a spiritual dance during the program, and young women from Grace Apostolic Church in Terryville got heads bobbing and hands clapping with their songs.
Kevin Barnett read King's "I Have A Dream" speech.
The celebration commemorating King was in jeopardy earlier this month when city usage rules required an insurance policy that the tiny organization couldn't afford.
Initially, school Superintendent Phil Streifer and the mayor offered to personally share the cost, which was about $100. But then an anonymous donor sent in the necessary funds, and Streifer and Ward's offer was no longer needed.
Walker-Massari thanked them for their willingness to cover the insurance fees, and also recognized city Councilor Craig Minor and his wife, Laura Minor, who are NAACP members, for helping to organize the celebration.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Press staff
BRISTOL – With song, dance, personal reflections and words of inspiration, a community celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day drew about 60 people to Memorial Boulevard School Monday.
"I am truly pleased," said Nicole Walker-Massari, president of the Bristol branch of the NAACP, which hosted the event. "We had a great time here."
Walker-Massari urged those who are not members of the NAACP to join the organization, which meets the second Thursday of the month in the Bristol Public Library.
"It's a matter of community," Walker-Massari said, adding that the $30 yearly membership costs about as much as a pair of shoes.
Speakers talked about gains made through the civil rights movement – and the hurdles still to clear.
"We all like to believe that we've taken great strides," said Mayor Art Ward. But he said, "We have a long, long way to go."
Ward said a look at the presidential race and the many questions of whether America is "ready" for a black president, a woman president or a Mormon president shows that people are still judging candidates on their skin color, gender and religion.
"The questions don't center on their ability to make decisions that ultimately affect the welfare of all of us," said Ward, or on the candidate's work or experience.
"It's quite obvious that we still do practice segregation in this country," Ward said. "Let us not become complacent in believing that our work is over. Mutual respect for all human beings will continue to be a work in progress. Mutual respect should be a goal for us all."
Bob Brown, who teaches at Tunxis Community College and initiated the school's African-American history class, talked about growing up in a Southern white family in the 1950s.
Some of his ancestors owned slaves, said Brown, who said it's not something he's proud of.
Brown called King "the greatest American in my lifetime."
While his family was "deeply sympathetic to the movement of social justice," Brown said he struggled to understand "the unfair advantage" that he enjoys as a white person.
"I have lived my life in a different place than my fellow citizens who are African American," said Brown.
The Rev. Stanley Kemmerer of Trinity Episcopal Church in Bristol recalled being among the "hordes" of people in Washington, D.C. in August 1963 when King gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech.
"It was as hot as today is cold," said Kemmerer, who said the experience put him "at the epicenter of history" and changed him forever, for the good.
Girls from the Mt. Zion Dance Ministry in Bristol offered a spiritual dance during the program, and young women from Grace Apostolic Church in Terryville got heads bobbing and hands clapping with their songs.
Kevin Barnett read King's "I Have A Dream" speech.
The celebration commemorating King was in jeopardy earlier this month when city usage rules required an insurance policy that the tiny organization couldn't afford.
Initially, school Superintendent Phil Streifer and the mayor offered to personally share the cost, which was about $100. But then an anonymous donor sent in the necessary funds, and Streifer and Ward's offer was no longer needed.
Walker-Massari thanked them for their willingness to cover the insurance fees, and also recognized city Councilor Craig Minor and his wife, Laura Minor, who are NAACP members, for helping to organize the celebration.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Bristol priest recalls hearing "I Have a Dream" speech in person
By JACKIE MAJERUS
Press staff
BRISTOL – As a college student in 1963, the Rev. Stanley Kemmerer rode a bus from Vermont to Washington, D.C. on a "lark" and heard one of the most famous speeches of history.
It changed his life.
Kemmerer, the priest in charge of Trinity Episcopal Church in Bristol, took part in the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington and heard his historical "I Have a Dream" speech.
Monday, Kemmerer spoke at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in Bristol, telling the story of his life-changing journey.
Kemmerer said he was home for the summer and "minding my own business" in his small town in Vermont when a fellow parishioner asked him to attend the march.
"I like to travel. It sounded like a lark," said Kemmerer. "Why not? I said yes."
It wasn't until his parents expressed concern that he would be traveling to the South for a demonstration that he began to get a little scared, he said.
But parish leaders were going, and his parents allowed him to go along. On the bus, the mood was one of being part of a larger movement, Kemmerer said.
"Yes, there was apprehension, but there was excitement and hope," he said, adding that in retrospect the night may have felt like the one experienced by the villagers around Lexington and Concord in April 1775 as they waited for the Redcoats to arrive.
Nothing in Kemmerer's life prepared him for the experience he had in Washington.
"My town, my college, my home parish and my world were lily white," said Kemmerer, who said he knew then how to "talk the talk" but not how to "walk the walk."
On that hot, sunny and humid day in Washington, the young Kemmerer was impressed with the civility that carried the day.
"The day was not what I expected," said Kemmerer. "The violence we feared did not occur."
Still, Kemmerer said, "It was wall to wall people."
As it turned out, to hear the speech, Kemmerer and some of his traveling companions had to listen on the radio inside their bus.
"I remember the words. I remember the emotion. I remember the people," said Kemmerer.
King's speech, said Kemmerer, was "profoundly honest, yet free of malice."
It showed the tremendous power that one person has to make change, according to Kemmerer, who said King's speech and the march for jobs and freedom was his "introduction and conversion to walking the walk."
A few years later, as a student in Berkeley, Calif., Kemmerer said, things weren't so peaceful anymore. He smelled teargas, crossed military checkpoints and encountered the National Guard, all on American soil.
His experience at the march on Washington, Kemmerer said, helped prepare him for protests against the war in Vietnam, for work on Chicago's South Side and for work in the ministry.
King's speech, Kemmerer said, was "a major influence on my preaching, teaching" and on his belief that religious convictions and ideals such as peace, justice and equality must be accompanied by action.
Forty five years after that sweltering summer day in the nation's capital, Kemmerer said he was struck that his young man's "lark" would place him "at the epicenter of history."
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Press staff
BRISTOL – As a college student in 1963, the Rev. Stanley Kemmerer rode a bus from Vermont to Washington, D.C. on a "lark" and heard one of the most famous speeches of history.
It changed his life.
Kemmerer, the priest in charge of Trinity Episcopal Church in Bristol, took part in the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington and heard his historical "I Have a Dream" speech.
Monday, Kemmerer spoke at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in Bristol, telling the story of his life-changing journey.
Kemmerer said he was home for the summer and "minding my own business" in his small town in Vermont when a fellow parishioner asked him to attend the march.
"I like to travel. It sounded like a lark," said Kemmerer. "Why not? I said yes."
It wasn't until his parents expressed concern that he would be traveling to the South for a demonstration that he began to get a little scared, he said.
But parish leaders were going, and his parents allowed him to go along. On the bus, the mood was one of being part of a larger movement, Kemmerer said.
"Yes, there was apprehension, but there was excitement and hope," he said, adding that in retrospect the night may have felt like the one experienced by the villagers around Lexington and Concord in April 1775 as they waited for the Redcoats to arrive.
Nothing in Kemmerer's life prepared him for the experience he had in Washington.
"My town, my college, my home parish and my world were lily white," said Kemmerer, who said he knew then how to "talk the talk" but not how to "walk the walk."
On that hot, sunny and humid day in Washington, the young Kemmerer was impressed with the civility that carried the day.
"The day was not what I expected," said Kemmerer. "The violence we feared did not occur."
Still, Kemmerer said, "It was wall to wall people."
As it turned out, to hear the speech, Kemmerer and some of his traveling companions had to listen on the radio inside their bus.
"I remember the words. I remember the emotion. I remember the people," said Kemmerer.
King's speech, said Kemmerer, was "profoundly honest, yet free of malice."
It showed the tremendous power that one person has to make change, according to Kemmerer, who said King's speech and the march for jobs and freedom was his "introduction and conversion to walking the walk."
A few years later, as a student in Berkeley, Calif., Kemmerer said, things weren't so peaceful anymore. He smelled teargas, crossed military checkpoints and encountered the National Guard, all on American soil.
His experience at the march on Washington, Kemmerer said, helped prepare him for protests against the war in Vietnam, for work on Chicago's South Side and for work in the ministry.
King's speech, Kemmerer said, was "a major influence on my preaching, teaching" and on his belief that religious convictions and ideals such as peace, justice and equality must be accompanied by action.
Forty five years after that sweltering summer day in the nation's capital, Kemmerer said he was struck that his young man's "lark" would place him "at the epicenter of history."
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
January 20, 2008
Martin Luther King, Jr Day ceremony Monday at 1 p.m.
A story by reporter Jackie Majerus:
Thanks in part to an anonymous donor, a community celebration in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day is on for Monday, a Bristol NAACP leader said.
Nicole Walker-Massari, acting president of the local NAACP branch, said the 1 p.m. event will be in the auditorium of Memorial Boulevard School.
"Any and everybody" should come to the celebration, said Walker-Massari. "All are welcome."
An anonymous donor gave the $125 needed to cover the cost of the insurance the city requires for use of the auditorium, she said.
Walker-Massari said she was surprised by the donation.
"I thought it was very generous," said Walker-Massari.
Last week, when the event seemed in jeopardy over the cost of the insurance, Bristol school Superintendent Phil Streifer and Mayor Art Ward offered to share the expense and pick up the tab.
But Walker-Massari though they appreciated the offer, the donation took care of the insurance cost.
The celebration will include song, dance and some oratory, according to Walker-Massari.
She said the choir from the Grace Apostolic Church in Terryville will sing."They are good," said Walker-Massari.
A small group of girls from the dance ministry at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church will also perform, said Walker-Massari.
She said the Rev. Stanley Kemmerer of Trinity Episcopal Church will speak, and Kevin Barnett, who will graduate from Southern Connecticut State University in May, will recite King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
Bob Brown, an active member of the city's informal multi-cultural committee, will also speak, said Walker-Massari.
She said the mayor will be invited to make some remarks as well. [He said Friday that he is speaking.]
Many of Bristol's clergy are expected to attend the celebration.
City Councilor Craig Minor, who is a member of the Bristol NAACP branch and has done some work on the event, said he's hoping a lot of people will attend.
"There was a really good turnout two years ago," said Minor.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Thanks in part to an anonymous donor, a community celebration in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day is on for Monday, a Bristol NAACP leader said.
Nicole Walker-Massari, acting president of the local NAACP branch, said the 1 p.m. event will be in the auditorium of Memorial Boulevard School.
"Any and everybody" should come to the celebration, said Walker-Massari. "All are welcome."
An anonymous donor gave the $125 needed to cover the cost of the insurance the city requires for use of the auditorium, she said.
Walker-Massari said she was surprised by the donation.
"I thought it was very generous," said Walker-Massari.
Last week, when the event seemed in jeopardy over the cost of the insurance, Bristol school Superintendent Phil Streifer and Mayor Art Ward offered to share the expense and pick up the tab.
But Walker-Massari though they appreciated the offer, the donation took care of the insurance cost.
The celebration will include song, dance and some oratory, according to Walker-Massari.
She said the choir from the Grace Apostolic Church in Terryville will sing."They are good," said Walker-Massari.
A small group of girls from the dance ministry at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church will also perform, said Walker-Massari.
She said the Rev. Stanley Kemmerer of Trinity Episcopal Church will speak, and Kevin Barnett, who will graduate from Southern Connecticut State University in May, will recite King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
Bob Brown, an active member of the city's informal multi-cultural committee, will also speak, said Walker-Massari.
She said the mayor will be invited to make some remarks as well. [He said Friday that he is speaking.]
Many of Bristol's clergy are expected to attend the celebration.
City Councilor Craig Minor, who is a member of the Bristol NAACP branch and has done some work on the event, said he's hoping a lot of people will attend.
"There was a really good turnout two years ago," said Minor.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
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