Story by Allison Perrine | Photos by Patrick Olivero
RED BANK – People of all ages and backgrounds came together Monday to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and the powerful messages of equality he left behind that still ring true to this day.
At United Methodist Church of Red Bank Jan. 20, pews were filled by at least 200 people as the church hosted its annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Commemorative Celebration. Community leaders spoke before the energetic crowd throughout the morning of song and prayer.
Rev. Terrence K. Porter, senior minister at Pilgrim Baptist Church, said this was a day to rejoice, not mourn. “We don’t come because Dr. King died; we come because his legacy still lives. And we come as a community to celebrate together and to enjoy each other’s company,” he said. “This day is about community,” celebrating “the wonderful diversity and the wonderful attitudes and perceptions of inclusion that permeate throughout this community.”
The Red Bank mayor and most of the council attended the celebration that morning, as did elected officials from years past and the current police chief. Mayor Pasquale Menna spoke about the importance of banding together as a community to fight against hate.
“I’ve been attending the same services now for 31 years,” he said. “I see a lot of the same individuals who faithfully and traditionally have been part of our journey as a community to maintain not only the memory but the ideals of Dr. King.” But he said he was saddened not to see new community members in the audience.
Menna noted that hate and bias crimes increased by 16 percent from 2017 to 2018. “That is a saddening reflection on the state of our nation and it’s also not a very good reflection on our well-being as a people, as individuals and as communities,” he said. “I think it’s about time that we recommit ourselves as local leaders to confront the issue head-on.”
To do so, he’s planning on gathering mayors from throughout Monmouth County to “deal with the issue of bias, race, race crimes, hate crimes, crimes of bigotry – issues that divide communities.” The audience gave him a round of applause after the announcement.
Additional messages were presented by Red Bank Regional High School superintendent Louis Moore, Greater Red Bank NAACP president Min. Kerwin Webb, St. Paul’s Baptist Church of Red Bank Rev. Alexander Brown, United Methodist Church of Red Bank host pastor Rev. Jessica Naulty and others. A commemorative message was offered by Rev. Janet Jones, pastor of Shrewsbury Avenue AME Zion of Red Bank.
Musical selections were performed by the Drum Choir of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County, Red Bank Regional High School Choir and performers Patrick and Anya Angeloni.
The church provided attendees with programs about the morning, which also featured a list of 10 things people might not know about King. A few facts on the list include that King’s birth name was Michael, not Martin; that he entered college at 15 years old; received his doctorate in systematic theology; delivered a national address on voting rights before his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial; was imprisoned about 30 times; and that he escaped an assassination attempt a decade before his death.
KICKING OFF THE WEEKEND
On Friday morning, Jan. 17, the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County kicked off the Martin Luther King, Jr. celebrations with the 31st annual commemorative breakfast, this year held at the Sheraton Eatontown Hotel. There were 300 attendees including area residents, students and community and business leaders gathered to celebrate King’s legacy.
Two Monmouth County students, Maya Gerke of Freehold Township High School and Nghi Nguyen of Raritan High School, won $1,000 scholarships in a YMCA essay contest and were recognized at the breakfast.
Additionally, Wayne Boatwright, vice president of diversity and inclusion with Hackensack Meridian Health, was honored as this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Human Dignity Award recipient. He was honored for “his efforts to put Dr. King’s principles and ideals into action by helping to build inclusive and diverse work environments and communities,” a press release stated.
“Wayne is a phenomenal guy,” said Laurie Goganzer, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County. “We wanted to celebrate him for his efforts throughout his career in building inclusion and diversity.”
She called him a role model in the community and said the Y committee agreed that he “perfectly aligns” with King’s legacy.
The morning also marked the public announcement about the YMCA’s “Togetherhood” initiative that will bring people together to do volunteer work in the community. According to Goganzer, 130 of the 300 people at the Jan. 17 breakfast signed up for the Togetherhood initiative on the spot.
“I’m super excited about Togetherhood. It’s an amazing program,” she said. “We felt this was the perfect community to introduce this opportunity to and it was the perfect event to launch it.”
Togetherhood projects will be done monthly, starting with a winter clothing drive to support families in need at Lunch Break, the Red Bank-based nonprofit. For that, the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County is collecting new and gently used coats, hats, mittens, socks and other winter clothing items at its Red Bank, Freehold and Old Bridge locations. Collections will be accepted through the end of January.
For more information about the YMCA Togetherhood initiative or volunteer opportunities, visit ymcanj.org/togetherhood.
This article was first published in the January 23 – 29, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
