Dinner held to honor Martin Luther King Jr.

By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. died approximately 50 years ago, but many of the messages he imparted still inspire and motivate to this day.
The Knights of Columbus hosted their 13th annual MLK remembrance dinner on Saturday night. Joseph Burns, Superintendent of Schools for Copperas Cove ISD, was the guest speaker for the event.
“This is the event that every year is an opportunity for unity and an opportunity to reflect on the past sacrifices that people have made and to appreciate the gains. It’s also an opportunity to educate the younger generation,” said Ira Brand, chair of the MLK commemoration committee.
Brand added that he’s really appreciative of all of the people that attended the dinner.
Doris Bolicki was one of many who attended the dinner. She said that she remembers watching Dr. King on the television when she was 10 years old. She remembers his assassination, but more importantly, she remembers all the good he did with regards to civil rights. Bolicki’s father was Native American, and her mother was Caucasian.
“It impacted where we could live, what we could do,” said Bolicki. “But they both worked very, very hard.”
She said she remembers when her family was finally able to buy a house. She recalled a black family moving across the street from them, and then a neighbor petitioned to have that family removed and her father stood up for the family. They eventually became very good friends.
Bolicki said that there is still a lot of work before things are equal, but she said people are now better able to speak out about the injustices that still occur and added that the education is far better than it was when she was young.
After the conclusion of dinner and dessert, Burns spoke about Dr. King and about the importance of education and the importance of advancing Dr. King’s cause.
“If we don’t pick it up and advance the cause, then we have done nothing, and the dream dies,” said Burns. “For the dream to live, there has to be someone who cares for the dream, who takes care of the dream, who fosters the dream, who advances the dream, and who works on the dream. And you can’t just work on it one day a year…”
Burns talked about the history of public education saying that it was a limiting factor for many years. Things have gotten better, but there are still those who discount the importance of an education, and those who have more to worry about before getting an education. There are children who have to worry about whether or not they’ll have food, a home, or even family when they get back home.
“The undeveloped mind is one of the greatest tragedies of life,” said Burns. “Ignorance is a limiting factor.”
He said that Dr. King warned us about the importance of education when he was only 18 years old. Burns said that education is meant to enable us to sift facts from fiction. Education is the gateway for opportunity, and we need to give the young people, our future, the best chance to seize that opportunity.
“Every one of us has value…We need to look at the kid and the possibility…All of us are children of God,” said Burns.