When he stood before thousands in Washington, D.C., on that legendary August day in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “There will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, ‘My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.’”
In answering the call to “let freedom ring … from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city,” the N.C. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission was joined by a large and diverse crowd Monday morning during our annual bell-ringing ceremony at the Bicentennial Plaza.
Led by MLK Commission Chairman Dr. Dumas Harshaw, we gathered beside the Liberty Bell replica to proclaim the fundamental importance of freedom in our own lives, in our state, our nation and our world. Many in the group carried signs urging renewed focus on Dr. King’s attention to the insensitivity, injustice and inequality that curtails freedom and happiness throughout society.
While the Commission’s actions are symbolic, they have tremendous potential. We thank those who joined us – as well as all of you who paused to ring a bell outside of your home or business to show that you, too, cherish the value of democracy, diversity and equal opportunity.