Melody Alderman, Long Branch Middle School teacher, (l-r), Jacob Jones, chairman of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Guild, and Catharine Darby, guild vice president, place a wreath at the monument to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the park on Atlantic Avenue named in honor of the civil rights leader on Jan. 21. The ceremony capped off a week of events honoring Dr. King. KENNY WALTER Among the lessons that can be drawn from the life and advocacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., hope may be the most important, the Rev. Anthony Moss told a group gathered on a chilly Monday in Long Branch.
“We have to recognize the hope that he passed on to us was rooted on principle, not practicalities,” said Moss, pastor of Long Branch Covenant Church.
“He brought it to action but he never wavered on the principles that he believed were most important,” Moss told the group gathered for the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 21.
The annual ceremony held at the park on Atlantic Avenue named in King’s honor is organized and sponsored by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Guild.
Moss explained to the approximately 40 people who braved the cold weather that King’s promise of hope was reflected in his words, which are still powerful today.
“Martin Luther King Jr. gave people hope,” he said. “He not only spoke words of hope but he imparted hope to people.
“He stirred millions and millions of people with his sermons and his speeches,” he added. “You can listen to them today and your heart wells up with a picture of a better future.”
Moss said hope could be derived from all of King’s words.
“Obviously we all heard his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, where he stirred so many people to see a better future for our country,” he said. “But I find hope even from his ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail.’ ”
According to Moss, the word “hope” has become politicized in recent years.
“Hope was the reason that President [Barack] Obama won four years ago,” he added. “He stirred a new hope in America and hope will continue to fuel change in our lives.
“My message to us today is about the measure of true hope,” he added. “Do we have that same kind of hope or has hope become a buzzword, a bumper sticker or a brief emotion?” For Moss, the meaning of the word has changed. “The hope of which Dr. King speaks must be so much more than what I see today,” he said. “Too often today hope is spoken of based on political and social responsibilities.
“What I find so often today is we have a climate where people are so quick to become cynical when things aren’t working out,” he added. “We seem to have fewer of the qualities of true hope than we ought to.”
According to Moss, King’s promise of hope must be shared with today’s youth.
“One thing I hear over and over today is we are not passing what we’ve learned from those days on to our young people,” Moss said. “I believe we need to have a hope of the same measure, of the same quality that he gave to us.”
MLK Guild Vice President Catharine Darby, guild Chairman Jacob Jones, and Long Branch Middle School teacher Melody Alderman presided over the annual placing of a wreath at the monument to King.
Darby said the diversity and tolerance among residents of the city was reflected at the ceremony.
“As I look around, I am so happy to see black and white together,” she said. “God has been good to us here in Long Branch, we work together, we socialize together and we have a common goal.”
The ceremony closed five days of celebrations in honor of King, including Gospel Night at Trinity A.M.E. Church on Jan 12; the MLK Soul Food Dinner at the Portuguese Club on Jan 18; and the annual Ceremonial March, which culminated in a service at Second Baptist Church on Jan. 20.
“We had a great weekend and we conclude it today,” said Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider.
“We had a great gathering yesterday in Second Baptist [Church] and we are letting people know in this community the spirit of Dr. King lives.”
Schneider said diversity is a hallmark of the Long Branch community.
“If you know Long Branch, you know we [experience diversity] all the time,” he said. “You can’t go to our schools, you can’t go to our police department, the fire department, the VFW, you can’t go to a City Council meeting and not see people of various races and religions coming together for a common purpose.”
He also drew a parallel between the second inauguration of the nation’s first black president and the city’s diverse populace.
“In about two hours we are going to sit down and watch the president get sworn into office for a second time,” he said.
“Four years ago I stood here and said President Obama was from Long Branch — a mixed-race man raised by his mother and grandparents, raised in a church, taught the value of education, taught the spirit of leadership.”
The annual ceremony closed with attendees holding hands in a circle as Jones led the singing of the civil rights anthem, “We Shall Overcome.”