The Partial Observer by Monica Calzolari
MLK Celebrated by Diverse Group of Speakers, Musicians
Every year, the Oneonta Area Branch of the NAACP celebrates the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at different local churches. On Sunday, January 19, the Unitarian Universalist Society of Oneonta hosted the annual celebration with 10 guest speakers and nine musical performances.
The Rev. Stacey Mitchell, pastor of UUSO, said, “We are so honored to host the NAACP celebration this year” and welcomed an audience of nearly 200 people. There was standing room only in the church.
Poletta Louis, president of the local NAACP chapter, announced the theme of the 2025 MLK celebration as “Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice and Democracy.”
She stated that the mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.
A diverse group of musical talents participated in the celebration. Dan Butterman’s three daughters opened the celebration with a prelude. Later, eldest daughter Malena Buttermann sang a solo of “Homeward Bound.”
UUSO Musical Director Timothy Horne played the piano during much of the singing. Many songs were gospel music. Sometimes Horne accompanied the Cooperstown Central School Concert Choir. Other times, their choir director, Tim Iverson, played piano.
Yolanda Bush sang three songs, including “When They Go Low,” “I Know Where I’ve Been” and “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round.’”
Ajaré Malcolm, a soprano, sang “Deep River” solo, without a microphone. She and Ric Chrislip also sang “Free at Last.”
Harry Bradshaw Matthews, a retired associate dean of Hartwick College, introduced himself as the grandson of a formerly enslaved American, Richard Parler Jr., and a civil rights baby.
He titled his remarks as “The Gains are Questionable.”
“As we enter a new year, we do so without race-based affirmative action, with attacks on DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), reversal of Roe vs. Wade, and a split in the coalition supporting the Civil Rights Movement,” Matthews said.
On a positive note, a Merrill Lynch report dated 2023 reports two million black millionaires and 46 percent with middle-class status, according to Matthews’ research. However, “The other 45 percent is lower class, with mostly single-parent households headed by women,” Matthews said.
According to the Brookings Institute, “a major indicator of inequality in U.S. society is the distribution of wealth.”
Matthews said, “In 2023, the mean income of Black bachelor’s degree holders was $71,390.00 compared to $91,430.00 for white Americans with a bachelor’s degree.”
Matthews offered two suggestions. He said that more effort was needed teaching financial literacy to those in need of upward mobility. He recommended “each one, teaches one.”
He also challenged the audience to be change makers in our local communities. He referenced Jerry Brown, the former governor of California, when Brown said, “The best ideas frequently appear at the local level with its success forwarded to the national level.”
Andrew Puritz recited MLK’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech from the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. He received a standing ovation for his impassioned rendition.
MLK said, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal….I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character….”
Four students from Oneonta Job Corps expressed their dreams.
Jordon Brown reminded us that the Honorable Rev. Martin Luther King said that before physical reconstruction can happen, mental reconstruction must occur. He said, “The heart must change.”
Brown said, “It’s not over. The work continues with me and you….King had a dream and we must work to make that dream a reality.”
Kai Thomas of Oneonta Job Corp was optimistic about the current state of Black culture heavily influencing music, sports and entertainment. He said that one of the hurdles that remains to be overcome is “systemic racism.”
Mayor Mark Drnek, a member of the UUSO, addressed the audience as a “fellow citizen.” He referenced a sermon that Dr. Martin Luther King gave in 1967 at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Drnek reminded us that MLK said “no to hate, no to war, no to racism, and no to injustice in all its forms.”
Drnek cited examples from our current political climate mentioning threats of mass deportation, voter intimidation, and the right to control our own bodies. He asked, “If Dr. King was with us today, what would he say?” The audience responded “no” each time Drnek mentioned another injustice.
Monet Rothenberg, a member of the NAACP Executive Committee, drew an analogy between the decades it has taken her to plant and nurture her garden and the decades it will take to overcome inequality.
She cited two men who stood alongside of Dr. King. Rabbi Joachim Prinz witnessed Nazi brutality in his country of Germany, which led him to seek refuge in America and join the fight for civil rights. He asked, “Are you going to remain silent?”
Rothenberg also introduced the audience to Bayard Rustin, the principle organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Rustin happened to be gay. His contributions remained behind the scenes.
Pastor Mike Coles of the First Baptist Church in Cooperstown closed the celebration with a Dr. King quote: “Let our lives not be in vain.”
Monica Calzolari has been a member of the NAACP since 2023.
