MIDDLETOWN – Members of the Middletown community came together recently to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday and celebrate what he stood for.
The dozens of people, black, brown and white, young and old, participated at St. John’s AME Zion Church.
Pastor James Rollins said the commemoration was a reflection of the title of Dr. King’s last book prior to being assassinated – “Where Do We Go from Here? Chaos or Country.”
“We have got to understand that these are critical times,” Rollins said. “These are the times that I believe Dr. King was more concerned about and while we look like we have made a tremendous progress in the election of America’s first black president, we have apparently conducted ourselves as a country as someone who is, at least, partially inebriated, because we have taken one step forward and two steps back.”
Songs and prayer filled the air.
Similar commemorations are being held across the Mid-Hudson Valley and the nation on the legal holiday.