WIESBADEN, Germany - Wiesbaden military community members were encouraged to take "a day on, not a day off" during the federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 20.
The civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, born on Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Ga., was remembered in speeches and song during a special commemoration at the Wiesbaden Fitness Center Jan. 15.
"It's not a black holiday; it's a people's holiday," said guest speaker Maj. Bernard Brogan, 2nd Signal Brigade operations officer, advising listeners that the King holiday is a national day of service.
"Our lives and society are all better thanks to the life and sacrifices of Dr. King," said Brogan.
As someone who "represents the epitome of a leader," Brogan said Dr. King's legacy will endure as someone who stood for the "downtrodden around the world."
Describing how King was influenced by President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Brogan said, "however, it would be years before blacks were perceived … without prejudice."
Standing in the face of incredible adversity, the civil rights leader made it his personal mission to go where people were discriminated against, to point out institutional inequality and to confront those who would restrict people's freedom and equal rights.
Whether joining Rosa Parks in the Montgomery bus boycott or speaking from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, King was never shy about expressing the need to change the minds, hearts and culture of the population to better represent all Americans.
Col. Jimmy Hall Jr., 2nd Signal Brigade commander, compared King's legacy to that of recently deceased South African leader Nelson Mandela -- another person who clearly had an impact around the world.
The commemorative event, which paid tribute to King's 85th birthday, included dramatic readings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech by Capt. Odis Robinson, poet Maya Angelou's "Abundant Hope" by Wiesbaden High School students Monae Kouneski and Kendall Body, and musical performances by Kim Bollinger and 1st Lt. Matthew Gabriel.
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