SCLC Celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rev. Dr. C. Anthony Muse, pastor of the Ark of Safety Christian Church
The county’s chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference commemorated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Jan. 17 during an awards banquet at La Fontaine Bleu Catering in Lanham.
The event was titled “A Tribute to Our Legacy: Audacious Vision of Our Future,” and featured keynote speaker Rev. Dr. C. Anthony Muse, pastor of the Ark of Safety Christian Church in Upper Marlboro. Muse is also a state senator representing Maryland’s 26th legislative district.
The SCLC was formed in 1957, two years after the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott that lasted for 381 days. The boycott was spurred by the refusal of Rosa Parks to relinquish her seat to a white male passenger. The boycott stretched from Dec. 5, 1955 to Dec. 21, 1956 and triggered the desegregation of the Montgomery bus system.
The organization grew from a meeting called by King at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where some 60 black ministers and leaders met to discuss nonviolent approaches as a means to desegregate bus systems across the South.
King served as the organization’s first president until his assassination in 1968, he was followed in that role by Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy and Rev. Joseph E. Lowery.
For images from the event click here
--PGS Staff
| 
