"...Walking through the doors, welcomed by greeters and activists with petitions, this place I had never been became familiar.

I am not religious in the sense of believing in some deity or supernatural entity. But the message of human compassion and solidarity, no matter which God or Goddess is believed to be on the answering side of a prayer, is something in which I undeniably believe.

The interior of this careworn building had housed generations of human communion. The deep red carpet had been there for some time. The pews were simple, comfortable, and well-used. The tiles of the basement floor held the memories of people coming together, sharing the griefs and the joys across generations of this community. There was a woman sitting in front of me – her hair was just so, and her outfit not expensive, but well-cared for. I could see she had walked many hard miles in this world, but knew deep in her soul, that despite the hardships, she was truly blessed. The room was full of people, young and old, mostly Black, but not completely. This was a place of sacred connection to one another, where humanity was all that ever mattered. There was a piano – no Hammond organ here – but the spirit of its playing made it grand. This building, these people, was a home.

To celebrate and honor Martin Luther King Jr. was the reason we were all there. But it was his spirit, more than his name that was in the foreground. Dr. King was not celebrated but inhabited. Not the White approved, sanitized Dr. King - the real Martin Luther that lived and breathed.

The message was Abolition.

The message was speaking the truth about ICE on the street, KKK at home.

The message was that everyone matters, everyone is sacred, everyone a child of God.

Reverend Dr Genetta Hatcher was the keynote and she brought ALL the fire.

She spoke from the Book of Judges, when Israel had no king. What was missing was not a leader, but a remembrance of human grace. A terrible injustice born of inhumanity was committed in that time and the people clamored – but they did not act to change the system.

America is living in a time when we have a leader who disdains the people’s consent, claiming he can do whatever he wants. A leader who has no morality, no humanity, no grace. Atrocities are being committed in his name. Injustices are his policy frame. The people are clamoring, but we must do more. We must change the system to rid ourselves of such leaders for evermore.

This work is hard.

This work is dangerous in the way of all moral reckonings for injustice.

This work will elicit the wrath of those who benefit from the suffering of others...."