MLK’s legacy: Blueprint we must follow
RUSSELLVILLE — Rev. Bennie “B.J.” Bonner stood before an audience gathered Jan. 19 for the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration March and described how he, at 11 years old, watched people being beaten for the right to be able to march.
“Today my heart is kind of heavy,” Bonner said.
Remembering the dream alone does not sustain it, he said, only continued work does.
Bonner said the experiences of his childhood explain why he continues to speak publicly about civil rights history.
He told the audience that the civil rights movement drew strength from people who refused to stay silent. He listed voices he heard growing up, names he said still resonate decades later.
“There were voices that I heard back in the day,” Bonner said. “Voices like Ellie Warren, William Flinders, E.W. Jared, G.W.C. Richardson and others who were sounding the alarm.”
Bonner later connected those memories to the present as he introduced keynote speaker Rev. Dr. John H. Curry. He described hearing Curry speak earlier in the year in Mobile.
“I heard another voice,” Bonner said. “A voice that was crying loud and sparing not, a voice filled with goodness, filled with education and filled with encouragement.”
Featured speaker Mariah Wiggs, host of WHNT Channel 19’s “Day to Day” show in Huntsville and a graduate of Florida A&M University, focused her remarks on perseverance and patience. She encouraged the audience not to measure success by speed.
“Contrary to what social media may have you believe, dreams don’t come true overnight,” Wiggs said. “You must put in the work, and if you’re fortunate enough to have your dream come true, it takes work to stay there.”
“Sometimes the rewards of your work aren’t just for your benefit,” Wiggs said. “It’s for the generations to follow.”
Wiggs also emphasized education beyond the classroom. She encouraged students to read, learn history and listen to elders.
“Education goes beyond the classroom,” Wiggs said. “Take the time to talk to your elders, because they carry so much history rooted in stories you won’t find in your school library.”
Keynote speaker Rev. Dr. John H. Curry, senior pastor of Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Tuskegee, urged the audience to treat King’s legacy as unfinished work.
“Dr. King did not leave us a dream to frame on a wall like fine art,” Curry said. “He left us a blueprint.”
Curry challenged listeners to see themselves as active participants in progress.
“History doesn’t move by itself,” he said. “Justice doesn’t stroll in casually, and dreams don’t unlock themselves. You are the key.”
He told the audience struggle often precedes purpose.
“If you have been through pressure, confusion, rejection, delay and discomfort,” Curry said. “You were not being punished. You were being manufactured for access.”
Curry addressed modern challenges, including gun violence, racism, economic inequality and mental health. He warned against becoming numb to suffering.
“The culture trains us to scroll past pain,” Curry said. “But care costs proximity.”
Music during the program was provided by Aaron Freeman and the MLK Community Choir.
Local elected officials attended the observance, including Russellville City Council member Lonnie Freeman.
“I was one of the first to integrate the Russellville city school system,” Freeman said. “I benefited from what Dr. King and the movement have done.”
