January 14, 2019
The somewhat apocryphal Chinese saying, “may you live in interesting times,” can certainly be applied to our current era, regardless of one’s world view. Such was the context for the over 120 community members who gathered at the historic Druid Hill Y for the 44th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. breakfast last Friday. Among all the great traditions we carry on as a Y, our annual MLK, Jr. breakfast is to me one of the most precious, as it is an opportunity to take stock of our common humanity, our progress as a community, and our ongoing challenges with achieving social injustice. Dr. King, in in my view the single most important American of the 20th century, was one of those extremely rare human beings who forced our country to confront one of the most intractable problems facing our society.
With the theme being "Children of the Dream, Building Community through Commitment," the morning was punctuated by musical and oratory presentations by students from Waverly Elementary/Middle School (a Y Community School and After School Enrichment program site), including a moving recitation of Dr. King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech, originally delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Civil Rights in 1963.
Reverend Dr. Frances Murphy Draper, Founding Pastor of the Freedom African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, delivered a powerful keynote speech in which she challenged each of us to "find our why" and live a purpose-driven life. She also reminded us of the very serious challenges we face as a community given the ever larger divides that we experience in which, tragically, racial injustice seems to permeate so much of what we experience. As she put it, "this is not normal, not business as usual," and not to be accepted as such. In that context, Reverend Draper challenged us to ask and answer the question, "how long will it take?" And as she answered it, "not long, because truth eventually wins" and, quoting Dr. King, "his truth is marching on."
Along with the timely speech by Reverend Draper and performances by the Waverly students, other highlights of the morning included a review of the proud history of the Y in Druid Hill, delivered by our own resident historian Bradley Alston, a benediction by Pastor Troy Randall, of The House, Inc., a celebration of budding scholars from Y programs at Furman Templeton Elementary and Mt. Royal Academy, and the awarding of special Y Focus Awards to Melvin T Russell, Chief of Community Collaboration in the Baltimore Police Department; Changa Bell, Founder of The Black Male Yoga Initiative; and the Upton Planning Committee.
Special thanks to all of them for their dedication to the community and to the Y cause. Special thanks as well the Jayson Green, Executive Director the Y in Druid Hill, and the entire Y team of volunteers and associates who worked so hard to make this inspiring morning possible.
How long? Not long.
All the best,
John
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland