“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” This call to action was one of many quotes attributed to Martin Luther King Jr. during a program held Monday in Cruz Bay to celebrate the birthday of the fallen civil rights leader.
Dozens of St. John community members came together in Frank Powell Sr. Park to remember King’s inspiring words during an event organized by the St. John Pastors Fellowship and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Sigma Theta Omega Chapter.
Throughout the event, speakers called on audience members to question their commitment to upholding the ideals King represented.
Emcee Vankys Izaac, pastor of the Cruz Bay Baptist Church, reminded listeners of King’s message that “Anyone can be great because anyone can serve. Life’s most persistent question is ‘What are you doing for others?’”
Guest speaker Hadiya Sewer began by thanking the elders of the community for “showing us a moral authority that is greater than ourselves.”
For younger members of the audience who might not understand the term “moral authority,” Sewer provided a definition: “It’s guidance that comes from living with enduring truths about right and wrong, rather than by political structure or convenience.” King did not move “by force of personality alone,” she said, but “by submitting to a higher authority.”
“What are you willing to submit to, and what are you willing to do?” she asked, but she also spoke about the power of collective action. “We cannot (achieve our dreams) by relying on our own moral strength alone. We need community.”
Sewer, who holds a doctorate in Africana Studies from Brown University, was introduced as a “philosopher, community organizer, and consultant.” She is also a mother of two children, and she spoke of how they could not fathom the reality of the mid 20th century when black and white people could not go to school together, marry, or drink from the same water fountain.
“You might say we are already free,” Sewer continued, “but I remind you that freedom is an ongoing project. We (Virgin Islanders) cannot vote for president. We have a nonvoting delegate to Congress which I say is a result of racism. Thirty-three percent of the children (in the territory) live in poverty.”
Sewer reminded the audience that “The freedom struggle of today may not look like the Civil Rights Movement or the (uprising of enslaved Africans on St. John) in 1733 … I have a dream of a place where WAPA stays on, and children are well educated. What is your dream?” she asked.
Audience members joined her as she concluded with the song “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round.” It was one of several songs shared collectively during the program. Other performers included Willis Fahie Sr. and Lynell Audain, the St. John Recovery Choir, Delroy “Ital” Anthony, and the Dynamic Dancers.
When the program concluded, vendors opened up tents and tourists wandered through the park. Caroline Slater, visiting with her family from Los Angeles, selected a book to read to her 11-month old twins from the park’s Little Free Library (bearing the motto “Purpose in Paradise”) Residents and visitors moved on with their day to have lunch, head to the beach, and perhaps to reflect on the question, “What are you willing to do?”
