Lorain discusses 'Chaos or Community' in longstanding Martin Luther King Jr. Day program

LORAIN — A longstanding forum on Martin Luther King Jr. day used the civil rights leader's book, "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?'' as a backdrop to discuss past and present events. The Lorain County Interfaith Association and Intrafaith Ministries of Lorain County staged its 17th annual MLK program Monday at Lorain Christian Temple Disciples of Christ Church. Joining via Zoom, Wendy Byrd, President of the Modesto, California, NAACP, told participants groups every year celebrate King, but talking about the man's legacy is not enough. "The movement continues," she said. "Dr. King has been dead now for about 57 years. We can't expect for what he did to last forever. He was the spokesperson … to galvanize people and to bring forth a message but it was actually the boots on the ground, the people who marched and protested that brought enough attention to influence President Johnson to sign the Civil Rights Act." She compared the more-than-60-year-old Civil Rights Act, and the movement as a whole, to an old rocking chair that cannot be expected to be used and not worn out or changed. "I don't want to just focus on what Dr. King did, I want to focus on what we are going to do, because this is our time and this is our responsibility and it is up to us to regenerate the movement and if we don't do that, somebody else will do it for us," she said. She said there are movements to "Make America Great Again," which for some "mean make America white again." Other movements do not believe in equality or repairing the damages or racism, she said. "It's something that we need to pay attention to," she said, later comparing some of the "playbook" of 1930s Germany to the current U.S. political sphere and history being rewritten or erased. She compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to slave catchers and said many probably go to church on Sunday and act one way during the service, but act another way in public. "What really concerns me is when we look back at movements, things don't just happen overnight … I would encourage you to really look at the trends, the patterns, the same playbook that was used with the Holocaust and compare it to what's happening today," she said. "We've got a lot of work to do in terms of still keeping Dr. King's spirit alive." Ricky Smith, a longtime youth mentor, activist and founder of Steele City Youth Football, said he always reminds the young men in his program of the importance of community and the choices available to them. "I'm always telling them your greatest enemy isn't them, it's the version of you that refuses to change." Nearly 60 years since King's book was published, the threat of chaos continues. Bankruptcies, foreclosures and auto repossessions have increased under Trump's second term, Smith said, and the majority of Black men perceive unfair treatment by police and health care. Quoting the late rapper Tupac Shakur, Smith said, "When you are going through something hard and wonder where your higher power is, remember that the teacher is always quiet during the test." Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley said it was fair to say King understood chaos as a lived reality — facing injustice, violence and division while still believing in the importance of community. "Nonviolence is what Dr. King thought and talked (about)," Bradley said. "Nonviolence is active love — love is what is important … Dr. King taught us to engage in active love." He said King's edict to learn to live together or die as fools was at the core of Monday's event, referencing the chaos ongoing in Minneapolis following the shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent earlier this month. All that is left is to pray and act for accountability and dialogue, Bradley said, adding ICE has "lost our trust" and can push a community toward chaos. Bradley said he received a call Friday alerting him to alleged ICE activity in Lorain at Lighthouse Village. He drove there and talked to workers at the Mexican restaurant in the shopping center and said he planned on telling ICE agents he did not want chaos and did not want anyone harassed. Bystanders told him the agents were in a nearby parking lot but left. "I don't plan on running away from the situation," he said. "I plan on having a dialogue, offering cooperation, but making sure things are done legally. We don't want to have chaos in our community; we want to have cooperation, which is what community is all about." Lorain knows about struggle, he said, but the city also knows about community. "We had an ambush in the city of Lorain this past summer, just like Dr. King was ambushed and his life was taken," Bradley said, comparing King's assassination to the shooting of Lorain police officers Philip Wagner, Brent Payne and Peter Gale. Wagner died of injuries a day after the shooting. Payne and Gale are still recovering. The three officers were shot by a man who should not have had a firearm, Bradley said, arguing that allowing everyone to have a gun without any responsibility breeds chaos. "We have to stand up and make sure that we do something in our community to avoid this chaos from these weapons, and that's what we're trying to do," he said. "We didn't have chaos after these officers were ambushed...we came together as a community and we knew at that point that was the time to do something in the city." He said the city cleaned up the neighborhood near Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, fixed street lights, evicted problem tenants and purchased a house considered a "hotspot" for crime with plans to have a police officer live there. City Council also approved stricter curfews and penalties for weapons violations. "We have to remember Dr. King, but we also have to walk like Dr. King," he said. "Remembering doesn't do a lot of good, but walking like Dr. King does a lot of good." Other speakers included Imam Paul Hasan, Lorain County Public Health Commissioner Mark Adams and Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County Executive Director Michael Doud. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.