NEW BERN, N.C. (WITN) – The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. still echoes loudly, but with songs and brunch as dozens gathered at the Flame Banquet, celebrating his message of love and unity. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is still the message that rings throughout the world in which we live. It is needed, and it is necessary at this time more than ever,\u201d Peletah Ministries Pastor Dawn Baldwin-Gibson said.<\/p>\n
For many in the room, the celebration of Dr. King\u2019s life and accomplishments hits especially close to home. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn 1962, I went to a convention with SCLC, Southern Christian Leadership, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the president, and I went to Atlanta, Georgia, and met Rosa Parks,\u201d civil rights activist Rev. Ethel Sampson said. <\/p>\n
Sampson says she picketed during the civil rights movement in the 1960s and even met Dr. King himself. <\/p>\n
She says seeing everyone still coming together decades later gives her hope, though she wonders if we\u2019re truly better off today. <\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it seems like it regresses to me sometimes, but there are a lot of us who still have the dream,\u201d Sampson said. <\/p>\n
Pastor Baldwin Gibson joined the podium with other community and church leaders for the Martin Luther King\u2019s Outreach Ministry\u2019s memorial brunch to continue ringing Dr. King\u2019s dream well beyond the mountain top. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a great time for us to just come together and say, there is a more excellent way for us to move the needle forward. That moral arch is still bending, but it causes us to bend it, and we do that together,\u201d Baldwin-Gibson said.<\/p>\n
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