Watkins: Students must embody MLK with their actions, not just words

The change America needs isn’t going to be easy, cheap or comfortable, and it will not come without controversy.

Boyce Watkins, the keynote speaker at the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Program, urged students, faculty, staff and community members to take action and follow through on King’s ideals and values instead of just talking about them. (More)

Note: I agree 100%. ACTION! Right on!! C. Dancy II – DCN Publisher

Dr. MLK Celebrations But Our Education System Is In A State Of Emergency. I Can Not Celebrate.

I would love to see those who are celebrating to join me at the local school board meetings. Education is the key and we are in a state of emergency. I believe education would take care of 99% of our problems especially if it does not begin and end only in the classroom.

I can not celebrate when Edgecombe County do not have a Boys & Girls Club building. I remember when I just happened to be at South Edgecombe Middle School one day several years ago when they were planning on shutting it down. I got on it and along with others they are still there today.

We need a Boys & Girls Club building in Edgecombe County so the children can have somewhere to go to learn and to play.

I can not celebrate when George Washington Carver High School Pinetops NC now elementary made the gymnasium a multipurpose room when this would have been a great location for the children of Pinetops having somewhere to go play basketball. I remember when that was about to happen but I didn’t get enough interest to help fight that cause. Hell for many years there was not a picture of the black principal Mr. Samuel A. Gilliam in the school. I kept asking about that and finally one has been placed there.

I can not celebrate when the children in Pinetops have no where to go and nothing to do but the adults talk about them getting into trouble.

I can not celebrate when I look at how other schools athletes are more advanced because they have an outlet to play sports year round versus the children of Pinetops be able to play only during the school year.

I can not celebrate when the churches and other groups do not participate in hosting and/or doing things to help our children advance in our communities.

I can not celebrate when I know there is enough monies that the churches and certain folks in the county can come together and build a Boys & Girls Club and/or to provide something positive for the children in Edgecombe County.

Someone would say that I continue to talk about sports. Well there are other things that can be done as well, afterschool programs and etc. When I think of organized sports, I think of discipline because a real coach will be more than just a coach to the children but should be a father/mother figure to them.

Okay so after today Dr. King’s Holiday, what’s next? What can I look forward to? Attending the school board meetings and not seeing other parents and the community there. Attending sporting events and very little parents and the community there supporting their children. The list goes on. Well I am going to continue to be where ever I can for them when I can.

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Dr. MLK

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by TRUTH Minista Paul Scott ~

He was considered by some the most dangerous man in America. He spent many nights locked up in jail cells. There were constant attempts made on his life. During his last years he was constantly harassed by law enforcement. The real reason for his untimely demise before the age of 40 still remains a mystery. I’m not talking about Grammy nominated rapper Russell "Ol’ Dirty Bastard" Jones," I’m talking about Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr…. (More)

King Holiday Challenge – Okay Powers That Be Such As Churches, Political Leaders, Community Leaders And Others With Resources, I Repeat With Resources

I know some folks don’t like the word lottery. Well I will spend a few dollars a week on the lottery as long as I have the desire and maybe one day I will win but if not I will die trying. I pay county taxes but do my children have access to county recreation and/or is recreation available in my city?

I have always wanted to come into some money so that I could do certain things. Most important is to do things for the youth.

I have always wanted a big house where my children could have other children come over and they could play in a safe and secure environment.

When I was growing up I had it all. I had bicycles, mini bike, motorcycle, basketball goal, pool table and more. Children from the neighborhood came over to my house to play pool and to play basketball. But maybe it was because I came from a one child home where my mother and father both worked public jobs and we farmed also. I say we because I began working when I was 5 years old. No farms today for children to work on.

The only outlet for children in Pinetops to play basketball is outside the Pinetops Old Sparta Community Center. There is no indoor gym that the children have access to although there sits George Washington Carver Elementary School where the gym was converted to a multipurpose room.

G.W. Carver used to be the all black school until the Class of 1971 and it has only been several years since Samuel Gilliam principal picture was placed in the entrance hallway. And actually it is not posted like the principals are at the neighboring white middle school.

Why in the hell did the people of Pinetops black and white allow the gym to be turned into a multipurpose room? Why didn’t the black community and the few black board members put up a fight? Where were the G.W. Carver Alumni? Well why would they put up a fight when black children didn’t have access to the gym over the years since integration. I joined the alumni for one year and it was not for me. I had a dream and it didn’t include the total mission of the alumni because I feel the children need the alumni all during the year and not just at the end of the year when they pass out scholarships. I didn’t graduate from G.W. Carver but went to school there until the 6th grade.

Okay the Annual Dr. MLK March in Edgecombe County that targets the youth was held on Monday January 17, 2011. I think it is called “Lunch with the King” oh how lovely.

So what does the youth in communities like Pinetops, Conetoe, Leggett and other areas where they do not have the luxury of recreation centers like Tarboro has have to do? Why are there no Boys & Girls Club building/s in the county? Hell they been trying to throw the Boys & Girls Clubs out of the schools in the county since way back when. I know because I spoke out against them kicking them out. I served on the Edgecombe County Recreation Advisory Committee (now defunct) years ago and what did we accomplish? Nothing. But we were able to document how they didn’t want the children to play in the county school gyms and/or use their baseball fields during the summer.

I could go on and on with more of my spill however I think more can probably be found on my blogs over the years. Plus I have stated this over and over again at meetings and elsewhere.

So until the powers that be show me just how much they love the children by providing an outlet for the children, the hell with a March, a Banquet and etc. Children are available year after year just like the annual celebration so while you work on the celebration work on something that the youth can benefit from all year.

But how can these folks who say they love Dr. King continue to use our children of Edgecombe County for posters, speeches and etc. during the Dr. King Holiday Weekend but provide no outlet for them. And then we don’t understand why the children do what they do and do not want to come back to Edgecombe County when they go off to college?

I get it, I got it a long time ago especially after becoming an advocate for children back in the early 90’s. I have no regrets because I have done my share to the best of my ability fighting for them. So this is why I don’t have a problem with not attending the Dr. MLK Celebrations in Edgecombe County.

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Dr. MLK Holiday

AFRICAN AMERICANS DEFY MARTIN LUTHER KING YET CLAIM HIM AS THEIR OWN.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." MLK.

QUESTION : WHY DID MARTIN LUTHER KING STRESS FOCUS ON CONTENT OF CHARACTER INSTEAD OF ON SKIN COLOR?? (Read more)

Martin Luther King, Jr: I Have a Dream

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A Powerful Message!!