ANSONIA — Community leaders, students and members of the public celebrated the life and legacy Monday (Jan. 16) of Martin Luther King, Jr.
About 150 people gathered in the auditorium of Ansonia High School and lifted their voices in song and praise for the influential civil rights leader who would’ve been 94 years old today had he not been assassinated in 1968.
The 90-minute ceremony commemorated King’s life with uplifting songs courtesy of the Ansonia High School Choir, prayers, and speeches of hope. Following the event, the crowd gathered in the school cafeteria to enjoy a community meal, dubbed the Naomi Wallace Love Feast, in honor of the Valley NACCP’s late advocate.
This year’s MLK celebration served as a fundraiser. Proceeds will allow some 15 AHS students to visit Alabama and Atlanta this spring and take a civil rights tour.
Funding will also benefit the ongoing mission of the Valley MLK Committee, not only to establish a Valley MLK Fund at the Valley Community Foundation, but to also create an MLK mural in Derby.
A highlight of Monday’s event featured Mead School fifth-grade student London Osborne, who drew a standing ovation from the crowd with her essay titled “Why We Celebrate Dr. King.” London spoke of how MLK was an advocate for non-violent protest, who brought “hope and healing to America,” not just through words, but through action.
“Martin Luther King Day honors the life of a fighter for racial justice and equality, and it celebrates this equality and a society that he dreamed of becoming color blind,” London said. “His words spoke for every nationality to feel no segregation. This is not to be known as a Black holiday, but it is known as a people’s holiday.”
Greg Johnson, president of the Valley’s NAACP, singled out London and her essay and recruited the youngster and her family to join the NACCP.
“I see leadership, I see a future president in you, London; you came up here and didn’t miss a beat,” Johnson said.
New to the annual MLK celebration this year, Valley high school students, from Ansonia, Derby, Naugatuck, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton high schools, took turns reciting King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.
State Sen. Jorge Cabrera, who represents the 17th District, told the crowd he often listens to King’s iconic speeches on cassette tapes when taking road trips in the car. Cabrera touched on how King was “public enemy #1” as he fought for justice and lived under the constant daily threat of death. He said King had his house fire-bombed, was stabbed at a book signing, received threatening letters and phone calls and more.
“Yet through all that, he did not waiver, he did not sit back, he continued to believe that we shall overcome,” Cabrera said. “Remember the immense sacrifice this man gave for our country, and he was willing to literally lay his life down.”
While King prevailed in ending racial segregation in the 1960s, his mission to bring about racial and economic equality and put an end to discrimination to this day has not been fully realized. But with future generations engaged and the MLK Committee continuing to keep his legacy alive, Ansonia Superintendent of Schools Joseph DiBacco is sure the mission will live on.
“The students are the future right here,” DiBacco said. “If you take anything from today, people are going to tell what you can and cannot do. Well, you know what, if you can dream, you can do it and you can believe it.”
Johnson also reminded folks they can contribute to the Valley MLK Committee, administered through TEAM, anytime by visiting the agency’s website.
