News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Thurs. April 5, 2018: Caribbean roots, US congressional leaders were among millions across the country who paused Wednesday to remember the life and legacy of civil rights icon, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the 50th anniversary of his assassination.
Caribbean-American Brooklyn, NY Congressmember Yvette Clarke remembered Dr. King as a “drum major.”
“On this day, 50 years ago, our country lost its Drum Major,” Clarke tweeted Wednesday. “He was a Drum Major for justice. He was a Drum Major for peace. He was a Drum Major for righteousness. #MLK50.”
Caribbean roots US Senator, Kamala Harris, whose father was born in Jamaica and who currently represents California, said Dr. King continues to challenge us, even from beyond the grave.
”Fifty-years later, Dr. King continues to challenge us,” she tweeted on the anniversary of his death. “Now is not the time to throw up our hands, it’s the time to roll up our sleeves. #MLK50.”
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Dominican-Republic-born, New York Congressman, Adriano Espaillat, insisted Wednesday that the tragedy that took Dr. King’s life did not stop his dream.
“Five decades after Dr. King’s assassination, his message still rings true,” he tweeted. “We continue our work to ensure equality, justice and equity for all. #MLK50Forward.”
And Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, whose roots extend to Jamaica through her parents, reminded Americans that “Dr. King understood that a life well lived, and all of the noblest virtues – courage, wisdom, grace, love – were rooted in service to others.”
“He memorably expressed this idea in his last sermon, the evening before he was murdered,” Congresswoman Jackson Lee added via tweet.
Dr. King was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. He was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. CST. On Wednesday, The National Civil Rights Museum, which was built within the Lorraine Motel, where King died, hosted an all-day gathering with performances, speeches and an “evening of storytelling.” At 6.01p.m., the museum rang a bell 39 times in recognition of Dr. King’s age when he was killed.
