Beaufort's MLK Jr. service calls attention to violence, poverty
Work remains to continue Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy of fighting injustice, violence and poverty, Beaufort leaders and residents said Monday.
Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling used the city's Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration to call attention to one of the city's most historic neighborhoods -- characterized of late for its violence and large percentage of vacant homes. The Northwest Quadrant needs a new name, fresh signs and a public effort in restoring dignity to an area afflicted by gun violence and the dilapidated properties of heirs who can't afford to maintain them, Keyserling said.
"I know the answers are going to come," Keyserling said. "I know this year we're going to do more than we've talked about year after year after year."
He delivered the comments at a service recognizing King at USC Beaufort Performing Arts Center. The service followed an annual parade through downtown.
The events were part of a county-wide celebration. On Hilton Head Island, King was remembered with a march at Hilton Head Island High School followed by a memorial service. Bluffton held a memorial service at Town Hall followed by a march and a cookout at Oyster Factory Park.
Beaufort's parade included vehicles with King's picture taped to the sides. Others walked with signs reading, "Let freedom ring," and "Racism hurts everyone."
Bladen Street resident Jabari Moketsi pointed out another sign: "Social justice means jobs that pay a living wage." Moketsi, who works for the Gullah Sentinel newspaper and Gullah Peoples Radio, said addressing the widening economic gap is among the work remaining in following King's legacy.
"When people are making money and living a quality life, they tend to do good things," Moketsi said. "When people are living a lifestyle in terms of economics that's not quality, they tend to do negative things."
W. Brown Marshel, the keynote speaker at Beaufort's commemoration, said King's work on behalf of the poor was overshadowed by his stature as civil rights leader. He pointed out time King spent on his final birthday working on a campaign to urge Congress to address poverty.
"It is not as black and white as voting rights or where you sit on a bus," Marshel said. "It's hard to talk about in sound bites."
Following a year that saw nine black people shot and killed in a Charleston church followed by the Confederate flag coming down at the Statehouse, Moketsi and others said King's message needs to resonate longer than a day.
"The relevant question is 'What do we do? Where do we go from here?'" said the Rev. Freddie Lawton, pastor of Antioch Christian Church in Varnille who led Monday's service. "How do we create an atmosphere to work together and achieve success for everyone?"
In downtown Beaufort, that will require more than weekly community dinners in Washington Street Park, Keyserling said. He talked about mentorship programs, encouraging people to take pride in their neighborhood and finding ways to fund restorations of family homes.
Keyserling referenced the homicides in downtown Beaufort and asked what might have been done to stop them. Norman Jenkins, pastor of Grays Hill Full Gospel Deliverance Church, prayed for witnesses to have courage to come forward.
Change will require reaching young people, speakers said Monday.
"Let us all, as we leave here today, talk to one young person -- maybe your son, daughter grandchildren -- and tell them about the great American Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was," Port Royal Mayor Sam Murray said.
Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.
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- Several events planned to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Beaufort County, Jan. 13, 2016
- Photos: St. Helena Elementary School Martin Luther King Jr. Day art project, Jan. 18, 2016
This story was originally published January 18, 2016 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Beaufort's MLK Jr. service calls attention to violence, poverty."