Pleas for Humanity Echo in King's Name
Events Honoring Slain Civil Rights Leader Call for Nonviolence, Unity, Justice

By Hamil R. Harris and Caryle Murphy
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Racial harmony and public service were the day's messages -- a plea for unity and nonviolence from ministers and politicians, from parade marchers and community activists -- as people across the Washington area and the nation celebrated the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the holiday marking what would have been his 77th birthday.

At a prayer breakfast in Lanham, at a church service in the District, at a parade in Leesburg, at a gathering in an old slave cabin in Montgomery County, people spoke of tolerance and justice.

"That was the most important message from the most important man in the most violent century in the history of mankind," the Rev. Walter Fauntroy, a former D.C. delegate to Congress and long-ago confidant of the slain civil rights leader, told a gathering at the Tenth Street Baptist Church in Northwest Washington.

Drawing on a quote from his old friend, Fauntroy said that if King were alive, "he would remind us that either we live together as brothers and sisters on this planet or we will perish together as fools."

In Leesburg, hundreds of people marched from the Loudoun County courthouse to the Douglass Community Center, formerly the segregated Douglass School.

"We're all here to honor the man and honor the dream," said James Thornton, a Douglass graduate who said he has marched in all 14 of Leesburg's King Day events.

As the drum line from the Loudoun County High School marching band led the group out of downtown Leesburg, Gwen Whiting of Paeonian Springs walked with friends from Providence Baptist Church.

"Martin Luther King said to reach out to all cultures and people," Whiting said. "He tried to get everyone to understand it's not just about one race; it's what we all need. I'm hopeful everyone can see how positive a movement can be without violence."

President Bush celebrated the holiday by taking in a gospel performance and viewing the Emancipation Proclamation. The document, signed by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and on display from Friday until yesterday at the National Archives, declared an end to slavery in the rebellious states.

In Maryland, befitting the start of a big election year, politicians were out among voters, speaking stirringly of King's legacy.

At Hope Christian Church in Lanham, Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele (R) recalled the day when, as a 10-year-old boy, he walked in on his mother weeping. He did not know that King had just been killed and asked what was wrong.

"She told me a member of the family, a friend of the family, had just passed away," Steele said.

Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) took the same stage later and told about 850 parishioners that he studied King's speeches and learned that King "loved that God used ordinary people to do miraculous things."

U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, the first Hispanic person to hold the job, received a standing ovation from 1,200 people at a King celebration at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Northwest.

Although the Justice Department has drawn mixed reviews for its work in fighting discrimination, Gonzales heard no criticism from a generally receptive audience.

"I care about civil rights in America," he said, and added, "There is work left undone in securing the voting rights of all Americans."

The nation's top law enforcement official recalled that his mother, a child of poor migrant workers, was once denied entry to a Texas cafe "because of her race" and did not vote until she was 50. But later, she was able to "walk in the front door of the White House to visit the president."

At Tenth Street Baptist Church, Fauntroy was the keynote speaker at the interfaith service that attracted several hundred people.

"Martin Luther King was, first and foremost, a minister of the gospel," Fauntroy said. "Religion is a system of values that gives purpose to one's life. That's what Judaism is to Jews. That's what Hinduism is to Hindus. It is a unifying system that gives purpose to life.

"He understood that all Christians, all Jews and all Muslims serve one god," Fauntroy said of King, who was assassinated April 4, 1968, in Memphis.

The bands that play in the city's parade honoring King, traditionally held on the holiday, were absent from the streets of Southeast Washington yesterday. The event has been moved to April 8 so people don't have to worry about frigid weather.

At La Fontaine Bleu in Lanham, several hundred people took part in the 12th annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast, sponsored by the Ebony Scholarship Society. Oxon Hill High School's Advanced Ensemble performed "Battle Hymn of the Republic," bringing attendees to their feet.

"We want the legacy of King to be remembered forever and ever," said the Rev. Artie L. Polk, founder of the scholarship society. "That's important. And unless we encourage our young people to do this, they will not remember."

Maryland Sen. Nathaniel Exum (D-Prince George's), referred to young people in the audience when he said: "My hope is that they learn more about the man and what he stood for -- not just for African Americans. There was more to Doctor King than just an 'I Have a Dream' speech."

In Bethesda, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Montgomery County planning officials took part in a ceremony at an 18th-century house with an attached log cabin that once belonged to Josiah Henson, the slave whose autobiography probably inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

Officials plan to restore the one-acre site on a former tobacco plantation that contains the cabin, which is not yet open to the public. Greg Mallet-Prevost, whose family bought the property in the 1960s, sold it to Montgomery County for $1 million. Mallet-Prevost attended the ceremony.

"Slavery is our legacy -- it is my legacy, it is your legacy -- and it is part of us every single day," he said. Rather than "walk through our lives with anger" or shame, he said, people should "walk through [their] lives and learn from past experiences."

Staff writers Paul Duggan, Tom Jackman and Matthew Mosk and the Associated Press contributed to this report.