THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 16, 1996 TAG: 9601160387
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS
STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Elizabeth City on Monday through the voice of a young boy.
Abel Sutton, student president at H.L. Trigg Elementary School, stood on the steps of City Hall and delivered a thundering reading of King's ``I Have a Dream'' speech.
The message of freedom and brotherhood boomed from the front of the A. Parker Midgett building, echoed against the federal courthouse and rose to a chorus with the approving shouts of 200 listeners on Colonial Avenue.
The group was assembled for one of the many celebrations of King's birth and life held throughout the Albemarle area this week. The men, women and children had marched from Elizabeth City State University to the heart of the city, where they were greeted by dignitaries and treated to more than an hour of literature, speeches and songs.
On foot and on bike, in jeans and in suits, on folding chairs and padded strollers, the group heard and shared King's dream of justice and love.
``Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of immeasurable courage,'' said ECSU interim Chancellor Mickey Burnim. ``A lot of people have dreams. But he was a man of action. He championed the rights and the plights of the poor, of the disadvantaged, of the disenfranchised.''
Raymond Rivers, president of the Pasquotank County chapter of the NAACP, quoted King on topics ranging from racial heritage to economic development.
``This is one of the most important holidays, for me, of the year,'' Rivers said.
Other speakers echoed Rivers' sentiments and called on the group to use King's message for positive change now.
``The only thing that's going to bring about change, like Brother Martin told us, is love,'' said Ursula M. Adderton, a 1994 graduate of ECSU and a high school teacher in Hertford County.
``We know that someone wants to predict that we are going to fail,'' Adderton said. ``But it only takes a few, and a concerted effort, for change.''
Elizabeth City Mayor H. Rick Gardner, who welcomed the group on behalf of the city, said King's message lives on through the holiday.
``His dream is continuing, obviously, because we're all here today,'' Gardner said. ``We've come a long way. And we obviously have a long way to go. let's continue today, and one day we will all live in harmony together.''
The ceremony also was marked by two ringing solo performances by Keeghan White, a kindergartner at J.C. Sawyer Elementary School, and a group rendition of ``Lift Every Voice and Sing.''
Before the program broke up, mistress of ceremonies Veronica Lax urged people to keep abreast of events that are shaping society.
``There's a change coming this year - welfare reform, affirmative action. There's a change coming. Are we ready?'' asked Lax, the daughter of Raymond Rivers and City Councilwoman Myrtle Rivers. ``Are we ready to go back into our communities and work? Do we have an agenda for '96 as a people?'' by CNB