Double Celebration

Yesterday Rockville celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Richard Montgomery High School. The 37th annual event was interwoven with excitement about Barack Obama’s Inauguration.>

From the start, Soul in Motion and Body Moves Dance Company brought the crowd alive dispersing their high energy and infectious enthusiasm. After their positive drumming energy and brightly designed skirts left the stage, the audience repeatedly declared “Yes, it was beautiful!”

Theo Anderson of the Human Rights Commission joked about how difficult it was to follow the performance and said “You’ll get no dancing out of me!” Yvonna Love, the chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, declared the next day’s Inauguration a manifestation of MLK’s dream.

The guest speaker, Joe Madison, spoke early in the program because he had to go to a rehearsal for a TV1 broadcast on Inauguration Day. He made every effort to join us in Rockville because he appreciates our City. Known for his tagline “What are you going to do about it?”, he didn’t disappoint. He told us that we should enjoy the Inauguration and go to all the balls, but come Wednesday morning “it’s going to be all business”. He put MLK’s life in perspective and emphasized that he had impacted the world by the time he died at 39. He decided to go from being an observer to being a participant. He remains a moral compass for us today. Mr. Madison believes that the great divider in American society today is education as he provides a sobering description of our society.

The emotional songs from Renee Barnes, including a one with Philip Miller, moved the audience embracing the fact that we are all “on the wings of a dream”.

Mayor Susan Hoffmann admitted that one of the highlights of her year is celebrating MLK’s life and she believes that all things are possible again. His message resonates with each of us today and every day and in his words “The time is always right to do right.” She said we need to remember to encourage each other within our community and appreciate each other while embracing our diversity. We need to do right and always strive to do better.

Mayor Hoffmann and Chairperson Love then awarded the F. Michael Taff Award to the Arc of Montgomery County for their efforts to further the rights of people with disabilities.

The high school nominees for the Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Ward stood to be recognized and the award winner Shyiesha A. Smith (pictured here at the reception with her dad) was recognized for her advancement of Martin’s values. She volunteered for over 1,000 hours in the community doing voter registration, sports registration, elementary school tutoring, and youth counseling. This fine and caring young woman embodies the belief that “When one succeeds, we all succeed.”

Those attending commented that each year the celebration gets better. Rockville Community Mediation Administrator, Janet Kelly, and the Human Rights Commission did indeed do it again!

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