January 22, 2002
A musical celebration of unity
By Cathy Willoughby
Staff Writer
cwilloughby@advertiser-tribune.com
A spiritual journey in song was traveled by those in Ebenezer United Methodist Church Monday night.
They were enchanted by the vocal talent of the Cleveland gospel group Yarbrough and Company at the Martin Luther King Day Celebration.
"We will do a little teaching, of black history,'' said one woman member of the group to the audience. "First, we will take you way back, to when we had to work when we came to America. Everyone does.''
Adding that it was a fun piece for the group to do, they jumped, spun and clapped their way through the Negro folk tune, "Jump Down, Spin Around, Pick a Bale of Cotton.''
From there, they told of the tradition of Negro spirituals. "There was always a message,'' she said. "They were always talking about going to freedom. But you could never say you were leaving.''
The words to the song, "Stealing Away to Jesus,'' reiterated the theme of freedom for everyone.
Snapping their fingers, they lifted spirits with "If We Ever Needed the Lord Before, We Sure do Need Him Now.''
"When you know you are speaking the truth, you make a vow to do your best,'' she added. "To walk justly, to be a Christian, to live the word of King's vision.''
They then sang, "Done Made my Vow to the Lord, and I Never Will Turn Back.''
Another rousing spiritual had the audience keeping time with the beat. The song talked of the "road up Yonder'' when they would be rewarded for their toils in this life. The song was entitled, "Lord, I want to Live Up Yonder In Bright Mansions Above.''
The Martin Luther King Day Committee also conducted an essay contest in area elementary schools. Children were asked to write on the subject, "How Martin Luther King Junior Promoted Peace.'' Winners read their essays to the audience. They were Katelin Logan and Josh Lawson, grade two, Noble Elementary; Amanda Kiesel, grade four, Clinton Elementary; and Briana Zellner, Clinton Elementary.
This year's Peacemakers Award was presented to David Shevin, who promoted and chaired the MLK Day celebrations in the area from 1988 to 2001.
Currently a professor at Central State University in Wilberforce, Shevin spoke of King's legacy of giving a voice to the voiceless. King gave a message of not only social, but workplace injustice.
"He wanted everyone from the ground up to be heard,'' Shevin said. He told of King's travels to Memphis, to speak to sanitation workers, seeking a decent workplace and benefits.
"In 1961, King was the speaker at a AFL-CIO constitutional convention,'' he said. "He said that when workers' rights advance, so do black people, and when black people's rights advance, so does everyone.''
The annual event was sponsored by Heidelberg College, Tiffin University, National Machinery Foundation, Sisters of St. Francis, Ethel Williams Alexander, American Standard Inc. and Mary Hunt.