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Story by Reverend Jerry Artis who is the Pastor of Love of Christ Fellowship Church in Huntington Station.
April 4, 1968, I remember playing basketball with my friends. We were having fun, we were already planning to play football after the game to settle scores with each other for foul play, and roughness, that could only be taken care of on the field, when the word spread like wildfire that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been killed!
We all raced home or to the nearest home to hear the news on television as it repeated it over and over again. I remember the profound sadness and the hatred for White people who could do such a cruel thing to a preacher who always spoke of peace and non violence to make this country live up to its ideals.
Forty four years later, that 14 year old boy is a 59 year old man, a preacher man, who realizes that I still look up to and strive even in my own small way to be like Dr. King. Forty four years later, because of Dr. King, many eyes have been opened, many hearts have been changed. People of all races, creeds, colors, have benefited from the more than 6 million miles he traveled to fight injustice, the books he wrote, the speeches he gave, the arrests he suffered, the abuse and finally the death he died on behalf of equality.
The question we must ask ourselves as we remember Dr. King, is where are we now? We’ve come a long way, but we must admit to ourselves that we have a long way to go. In the words of Dr. King, “injustice anywhere, is injustice everywhere”.
Dr. King, as we press on towards the mark of true freedom for all, rest assured we will never forget you. Besides Dr. King, I know we all have lost love ones whom we’ll never forget. Thinking of my father, Dr. King, and others who have inspired me to be the best I can be, including Rev. John H. Cherry, Sr., who mentored me when I was a teenager to help me to see God in the loss of Dr. King, I dedicate this song. I find comfort in it and I hope that it will comfort you as well. The song is called We’ll Never Forget You and these are the words.
We’ll Never Forget You
There’s a reason and there’s a need, for the sewer and the seed…….
This seed of faith, in us you’ve sown,
Has taken root in hope, and is growing strong…….
We’ll never forget you,
Nor the time with us you shared,
We’ll always respect you,
You let us know you truly cared……….
Beautiful roses, here today,
Oh how we wish they could stay,
But the memories linger, though the roses fade,
And the heart recaptures the joy it gave
We’ll never forget you……………
Now we’ll go on,
Yes, we’ll carry on,
Sometimes it hard to do…………
Since you’ve been gone,
It’s a fact, oh yes its known,
We miss you, really miss you………..
The day is coming,
It’ll be our turn,
A new generation will have to learn,
We can only hope to be as good as you,
We want to make you proud in all we do,
We’ll never forget you.
God bless you all and Happy King Day!
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