On the 40th anniversary of an annual civil rights march, the Reverend Anthony Bennett had a question. In the age of email, Facebook, and Twitter, what good is a march through the streets?
Rev. Bennett, pastor of Bridgeport’s Mount Aery Baptist Church, was the featured speaker at the 40th annual Love March on Friday. The event takes place every year on Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday.
The Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church on Lawrence Street in East Rock organizes the march to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy and to recognize the need for continued civil rights work. Over a hundred people took part in the event this year, including Attorney General Dick Blumenthal, State Sen. Toni Harp, State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, Mayor John DeStefano, and schools Superintendent Reggie Mayo. Click play above to see highlights.
Rev. Bennett posed his question after the march, as people gathered at the church for speeches and singing.
“Why is marching relevant? What is the significance of this march?” he asked. It may have been relevant in the 60s and 70s, but in 2010? “After all, we do have a black president, don’t we?”
In the digital age, the reverend wanted to know, aren’t there more effective ways to draw attention to persistent inequalities?
“Can’t we just email folk?” Bennett asked. “Can’t we use Facebook, or text, like some of you are doing right now?”
“Can’t we just twitter people and tell them ‘WTF’ … in the face of all the injustices?”
Over the course of the following 10 minutes, Bennett answered his own questions. Building steam as he went, his sermon was punctuated by chords from the church organ, until he had the church on its feet and he was singing instead of speaking.
Bennett answered the question of relevancy by reaching back beyond the 40 year history of the Love March, to biblical times. He referred to the Book of Joshua and the Battle of Jericho. The walls of Jericho fell after seven days of marching, Bennett explained. Marching is a “transcendent” method of social transformation, a method intimately understood by Dr. King, Bennett said.
Marching is a form of “public theater” that “demonstrates what lies beneath the surface,” he said.
The walls of Jericho fell on the seventh day, when the people shouted, Bennett said. “They didn’t break the wall down, they didn’t shoot the wall down. They spoke to the wall,” he said. “The reason marching is transcendent is because marching does work!”
(In the bible story, after the walls fell, the Israelites charged in and killed every man, woman, and child.)
Bennett’s sermon was the keynote speech in a lineup that included musical performances by a student choir from the Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School. The church’s home choir brought down the house with several gospel numbers, led by choir director Charlie Murray. Click play in the video above to see him lead the choir.
Former State Rep. Bill Dyson served as the master of ceremonies. Before being honored for his years of service in the community and as the Love March MC, Dyson recognized that this year’s Love March coincides with tragedy in Haiti.
Dyson (at right in photo) received a plaque from Pastor Kennedy Hampton, the son of Love March founder Rev. George Hampton Senior.
Several generations of the Hampton family marched at the front of the crowd on Friday, including Crystal and William Newkirk, the granddaughter and great-grandson of the founder (at left and center in photo). “We’re passing on a legacy. It’s the most important thing we can do,” said Odell Cooper, who marches every year.
Pastor Kennedy Hampton (at right in photo) led the crowd in choruses of “We Shall Overcome” and other songs.