More than 250 people jammed into the Providence Black Repertory Company's new home on Westminster Street in Providence Monday, January 21, to commemorate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and call for a wave of peaceful protest to continue his work.

The group watched a film documenting King's last protest, the 1968 struggle to win union recognition for black garbage workers in Memphis, Tennessee. Several people then recited poetry and spoke free style, and a panel of ministers and activists discussed pursuing King's work in Rhode Island.

Most noteworthy was the size and diversity of the crowd. Amidst white union and peace activists were scores of teenage black high school students. Veterans of anti-globalization demonstrations sat next to Liberian community leaders, while young members of DARE stood packed shoulder to shoulder with middle-aged leaders of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees. Noting how the crowd was the most diverse she had seen in more than a decade of organizing for the Hotel and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders Union, Alisa Gallo commented, "This was incredibly powerful. We need to continue to do this."

Two ministers clearly wanted to translate the turnout into a living legacy to King. "I'm tired of dreaming," said the Reverend Marlowe Washington, president of the Ministers Alliance of Rhode Island, referring to King's frequently cited "I Have a Dream" speech. "I want to see something in real life. I want to see something happening."

Duane Clinker, pastor of the Hillsgrove United Methodist Church in Warwick, noted that homeless children were be sleeping on the floor a few blocks away at Traveler's Aid. "Those kids at Traveler's Aid are our kids," he insisted, as many in the crowd nodded in agreement. Clinker, one of four ministers arrested recently for protesting Governor Lincoln Almond's decision to freeze $5 million in spending for low-income housing, argued that if 300 people were willing to go to jail, the situation could be changed.

Other speakers called for a civilian review board to consider police brutality complaints in Providence, the enactment of a living wage ordinance, and repeal of federal legislation that bars convicted felons from living in government subsidized housing.

For some teenagers, the film of King and Memphis AFSCME organizer T.O. Jones struggling to win dignity for 1300 poorly paid sanitation workers was an eye-opener. "It inspires you to want to do something about what's going on now," said Stephanie Alexander, 18, of Providence, co-chair of the non-violence group Youth in Action. "The adults are not the ones who need to hear it. We need to hear it."

Issue Date: January 25 - 31, 2002