Destiny Wharton

Delaware State University and the Inner City Cultural League, Inc. held their 33^rd Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Program “Celebrate the Dream” on Monday, January 21, 2019.  

The event was held in Delaware State University’s Education & Humanities (EH) Theater with plenty of performances and important speakers including; Dr. Wilma Mishoe, the President of the University and Governor John Carney, Governor of Delaware, Reverend Paul Thomas, Pastor of Historical African Methodist Episcopal Union Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, along with many other Congressional Delegation.

This event was to rejoice and remember Dr. King’s great contributions to the world and a reminder of that we are on this earth to serve a purpose.

 The service was led by the University’s Director of Public Relations, Mr. Carlos Holmes. He kept the spirits delightful and heartwarming. The program began with a musical prelude by the Sankofa Steel Band Orchestra, followed by the Posting of the Colors of the United States of America demonstrated by the Color Guard of Dover Air Force Base.

Next was the National Anthem was sung by Dr. Marsha Horton, Dean of Health and Behavior Sciences, DSU.  There were various of performances with a spiritual invocation from the Nanticoke Lenni/Lanape Tripe of Delaware. There was an outstanding dance performance by the Sankofa African Dance Company.

Later in the service, there was an amazing tribute was given to Dr. King by the Mount Zion AME Church Sunbeam Children’s Choir of Dover, Delaware and another by Dr. Donald and Delores Blakey of Don-Del Theater Company of Dover, Delaware.

Furthermore, when Dr. Wilma Mishoe gave her remarks she mentioned, “Our mission has always been to provide equal access and opportunity to anyone that wants to come here and to gain a further education. That mission is never going to change, we are guided in everything we do.” She even said when she heard the children of the Mount Zion AME Church Sunbeam Children’s Choir singing at this same event two years ago, that they would be given scholarships if they chose to attend DSU.

 Additionally, Governor John Carney shared a story of when he visited a class of third graders and was asked, “What’s your most important part of your job as Governor?” He responded with these words, “My job as your Governor, is to help everybody else do their jobs and do it right. My job as Governor is to answer the question that Dr. King said that we all needed to address; What are we doing for others? And for me, the most important thing is to make sure every single child in our schools, has an opportunity to be successful.” Governor Carney finalized his remarks encouraging the audience to think about how they would answer Dr. King’s question.

United States Representative Lisa Blunt shared her words of encouragement as well. She asserted that it was time to “Level Up,” and said, “This event uplifts us and prepares us to go back onto the battlefield.” Representative Blunt was referring to our current state as a country as we are in a government shut-down.  

And Finally, Reverend Paul Thomas gave a tremendous word. He spoke from the Bible from the book of 2 Samuel, chapter 21, with the leading statement of, “Not until you make it right.” He touched on that we should not be so hasty on removing our obstacles because sometimes our obstacles have a way of removing themselves. And declared that it was time to shut the door on negative people creating residual effects in order to “make it right.”

If you did not come out, you certainly missed out. This program was immaculate and extremely gratifying. It is such a pleasure to see several people come out and celebrate one of the world’s greatest non-violent, civil rights leader, and inspiring speaker. Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy will live on forever.

In the famous words of Dr. Martin Luther King, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”