I am writing as a member of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Planning Committee to thank the many people who participated in honoring Dr. King and his legacy in the fight for racial justice. First we would like to thank the First Church UCC for again generously hosting our program following the candlelight walk. 

Thanks to our speakers Dustin Ward of It Is Time LLC, Ethan Hughes of the Possibility Alliance, and Ivy Lobato who is a member of our Planning team for their inspirational and thoughtful talks, making MLK Jr's work relevant to what we face today.

Thank you as well to the wonderful Children's Choir made up of students from both Troy Howard Middle School and the First Church UCC, directed by Beth Nichol's-Goodliff, musical director at Troy Howard, and accompanied by Amy Kersman, choir director at First Church UCC. What a fantastic job the children did under their direction! Thank you to Aimee Moffett-Mercer for her music and powerful slideshow video of our history in the Civil Rights Movement. 

Thank you to Hillary Steinau and the Graphic Arts students from Waldo County Technical Center, for the beautiful posters and fliers they did for us that can be seen in great displays in merchant windows all over Belfast that expresses the importance of equality, inclusion and racial justice in our community. Thank you to Ned Lightner who filmed the event and produced a video recording to be shown on Belfast TV. 

Thanks as well to Kenn Ortmann of the First Church and Dana Williams for technical assistance, and to Betsy Headley for her photography.  

Finally, thank you to the Greater Belfast Area Ministerium and the Missions and Social Justice Committee of the First Church UCC for their kind financial support. And thanks to everyone who came out despite the cold and participated in myriad ways, to honor Dr. King and commit to the continuing work for civil rights. As Dr. Cornel West wrote, " Justice is what love looks like in public." We are grateful for the love in this community.

~ for the Dr. MLK Jr. Day Planning Committee: Meredith Bruskin, Bob Shaw, Cloe Chunn, Aimee Moffett-Mercer, Judy Williams, Steve Wolfsen, Ivy Lobato, Dr. Arthur Jones

Meredith Bruskin lives in Swanville