Andrea Pannell, vice president of stewardship for The Catholic Foundation, delivered the keynote address at the annual MLK Day celebration at Columbus Holy Rosary-St. John Church on Monday, Jan. 17.
Those who turned out despite an overnight snowstorm that inhibited travel listened as Pannell pointed out that Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech was given in Washington, D.C., during a march for jobs and freedom in 1963, five years before the Baptist minister and civil rights activist was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968.
“It is extremely important that we understand that he continued to fight for racial justice, human dignity, and the rights of the poor for almost five years after that march on Washington,” she said.
“We don’t hear much about those days — what might be called the silent days. Those days, months and years Martin described as difficult and agonizing. Days not void of hope, he assured, yet days of his coming to a renewed realization: That the dream I had (referring to his famous speech) has at many points turned into a nightmare.”
King, she said, through contemplation and soul searching, had begun to realize that his optimism was somewhat superficial and must be tempered with a solid realism. “A realism that they had a long, long way still to go; a journey that was not nearly over,” Pannell said.
“You see, Martin grappled, sparred, debated, explained and fought with those for whom his dream had become their nightmare.”
Living a self-described journey of unfulfilled dreams, Rev. King was shot and killed while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in April 1968.
“Life is a journey of unfulfilled dreams,” he told the people on that ill-fated morning in ’68. “Thank God, this morning, that we have a heart to put something meaningful in because life is a continual story of shattered dreams. ‘Get your heart right! Don’t get lost ‘cause you nibblin’ on sweet grass like lost sheep. Get your heart right! Fix it! Ask Jesus to fix it if you have to! But fix it today!’”
Pannell reminded listeners that King knew intimately that it was the ability to dream that keeps humans anchored when life presents mountains unmovable, rivers uncrossable, and valleys so low the light of the sun cannot be seen.
“We must be an anchored people,” he said. “Anchored in the hope of the promise of God. Yes, this is the true seed of faith that Martin was holding onto. A hope and a dream he knew to be seeded by the love of Jesus Christ.
“I’ve seen the lightning flash,” he said. “I’ve heard the thunder roll. I’ve felt ‘sin breakers’ trying to conquer my soul. But I heard the voice of Jesus saying, ‘Fight on! Fight on!’ He promised never to leave me. Never to leave me alone. Thank you, Jesus! Glory to God!”