Every Dream Needs a Village: My Opening Remarks from an MLK Day of Service

This morning, I had the privilege of offering the welcome for an MLK Day of Service event sponsored by the Pittsboro Rotary Club and Chatham County Schools. Here are my remarks, revised for publication.

It's an honor to mark the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a story that embodies the spirit of our work together today.

The year was 1956, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott was in full swing. The Rev. Dr. King was giving leadership to this growing movement for justice and equity and peace, while attending to his family and his work as a Baptist minister. That year, he had been arrested for his role in the boycott, and his house had been bombed. There were threats. Intimidation. Violence. It was a lot.

In the midst of this tumult, Dr. King's wife, Coretta Scott King, received a phone call from their dear family friend, Harry Belafonte—an entertainer and activist in his own right. He'd called to check on them, to see if they needed anything, to ask how they were holding up.

The story goes that they could barely carry on the conversation because Coretta Scott King was constantly being pulled away—getting dinner on the table, answering a thousand questions from the kids, greeting visitors. Some of us know what that's like.

Finally, Harry Belafonte got a word in: "Coretta, you need to let me help you. You need to get some help around there."

But she brushed off the request. She said Martin wouldn't let that happen. They could figure it out. They were worried about what other people might think when so many were suffering. And not only that, but their budget wouldn't allow it on a pastor's salary.

But Belafonte replied, "That's absolutely ridiculous. He's here in the middle of this movement doing all of these things, and he's going to get caught up in what people are going to think if he has somebody helping you?"

So Harry Belafonte committed right then and there to pay out of his own pocket for the help that the Kings needed—help that would allow them to focus on the good work they needed to do to bring change and healing and hope. And he did.

On a day like today, it is good to reflect on the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. King. We need his voice. We need his witness. But the Rev. Dr. King was not an island. It wasn't a one-man show. He had a community of people committed to that work—people who wouldn't always be on the frontlines, who weren't called to be the face of the movement, who didn't have the gifts to offer what Dr. King could. But there were people like Harry Belafonte and countless others who could see the need to sustain the movement, who had a vision for how to help, and who had their own unique gifts to make it happen.

That's what makes this morning so special. Instead of sleeping in, taking the holiday, or going out to breakfast, you are gathering here with your own unique voice and gifts and stories to contribute to the building of a better world—of a "beloved community," as Dr. King would describe—in only the way that you can.

And I thank God for that. For you.

A Prayer

Holy One, Great Giver of Dreams, God of Justice and Joy, on this day of service and remembrance, we gather in the spirit of your servant and saint, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who showed us what it means to dream beyond what eyes can see.

We give thanks for those who, like Harry Belafonte, saw needs and met them. For those who marched beside, who kept homes running, who made silent sacrifices so that justice could ring louder.

Help us remember that great movements are sustained by countless acts of ordinary courage and everyday grace.

Guide our work today, Lord. May it be more than mere activity, but a testament to the power of community. Let our service honor Dr. King's vision of the Beloved Community--where all are valued, all are heard, and all are free.

And when this day is done, may we leave knowing that we have not just commemorated a legacy but continued it—not just remembered a dream, but lived it.

In the name of the Divine, in the name of Love, Amen.