Leaders from all faiths remember Dr. King

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a revolutionary figure and a leader in the civil rights movement. He is remembered today for his actions, his words and most importantly, his dream for equality.

The 27th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Interfaith Observance, led by Reverend Reginald Tuggle, was held at St. Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church in Westbury on Jan. 15.

Hundreds of Nassau County residents headed out into the bitter-cold night to watch leaders from numerous faiths speak about the influential Dr. King.

Among those represented were Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians, Jews, the Islamic Center, the Sikh community and Nassau County politicians.

Rabbi Barry Schwartz was among the leaders who spoke. He had the honor to see King present his “I Have A Dream” speech on Aug. 28, 1963, at the March on Washington and again, just ten days before King was assassinated, on March 25, 1968, at a rabbinical convention in upstate New York. As another rabbi and King proceeded up an aisle past 800 audience members, remembered Schwartz, “ . . . the rabbis jumped out of their seats and as if on cue, but totally spontaneously, chanted ‘we shall overcome’ in Hebrew.”

Reverend Dr. Phillip Elliot, of the Antioch Baptist Church in Hempstead, also spoke on his experiences during the 1950s and ‘60s. “I lived through it,” he said. “I rode on the back of the busses. I ate at the separate lunch counters. I never sat with a white student until graduate school . . . the swimming pools were filled with dirt and asphalt rather than to integrate them.”

In addition to faith leaders, Freedom Rider Lewis Zuchman reminisced about his experiences living in the south. Zuchman was one of more than 400 individuals who participated in the Freedom Rides. On July 16, 1961, 19-year-old Zuchman boarded a bus traveling from Nashville, Tenn. to Jackson, Miss. to actively combat Jim Crow Laws.

“What will your freedom ride be? That’s your choice,” said Zuchman, “your choice to decide what evil in this world you’re going to stand up for.”

To culminate the night, all congregants held hands and sang “We Shall Overcome.”