A new game plan

PATTERSON — “We need a game plan” was the motto presented by New Age Patterson Civic Organization at its annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration Monday at Zion Chapel Methodist Church in Patterson.
In keeping with Martin Luther King Jr., who was a leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968, the program followed the idea that “we need a game plan to demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice and to lift our nation from racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood,” according to the event program.
The event was broken down into quarters, following the game theme, and presenters wore black and white stripe shirts representing referees.
The guest speaker for the event was Mark E. Lewis, senior pastor at Mt Calvary Baptist Church in New Iberia. Lewis began by expressing his view on the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. by saying, “I’m afraid that much of what we celebrate is not the authentic Martin Luther King. I believe we celebrate a sort of sanitized Martin Luther King,” Lewis said.
Lewis went on to describe what he believes to be the real Martin Luther King Jr. “The King that we celebrate today is not the same King that spoke up, spoke out, stood up, stood out because that King was radical and audacious and he was offensive to the power structure of America.
“We this morning are celebrating a King that has been reduced down to one speech and one line within that speech, but Martin King was more than his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech,” Lewis continued.
“In fact, Martin King was not in fact a self-proclaimed dreamer. He described himself more as a drum major and for those of you that know — a drum major is a big deal.
"The drum major comes out before the band does and most times the drum major puts on his own performance and his own production, but it was not all about him.
"He was simply the segue that led to the one sound, the many movements, and the many pieces that came together to bring us an orchestra performance,” Lewis described to those in attendance.
Lewis went on to compare Martin Luther King Jr. to the biblical Moses and explained that King worked towards nonviolence and love for all.
At the end of the program, those in attendance marched to the Carr-Robertson American Legion hall located at 1401 Live Oak St, in Patterson. The New Age Patterson Civic Organization had food, drinks, music and children’s activities available.