We celebrated this past Monday - at the NCNW 24^th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Breakfast - the life of one of the most courageous warriors in the history of America. On that occasion, I exercised the privilege of speaking truth-to-power – a habit that was a hallmark of Dr. King’s career. I spoke to re-energize a legacy that, if we are honest, has become too sanitized and too ceremonial.

In the process, I made a statement that was received by many with rousing applause, but that resulted in the discomfort of some and the outrage of others.

For those of you who missed the breakfast and who did not see the coverage about my statement this Wednesday by the St. Petersburg Times, allow me to recap.

I was called to the podium to accept the NCNW humanitarian award – an honor Mt Zion has received several times over the years. In the past, I accepted the award with a simple acknowledgement of the Mt Zionites present and a quick word of thanks to our hosts. But that morning, following the charge and the challenge laid down by keynote speaker Dr. Crystal Kuykendall, I had something more to say.

To paraphrase, Dr. Kuykendall was frank in saying that if we had come just to have breakfast and to give out awards, that we were missing the boat, and missing the chance to breathe new life in Dr. King’s legacy.

And so in my remarks, I issued a challenge. I told the story of how in 1999 when I was the newly installed Pastor of Mt Zion, a very wise Deacon said to me that I was now a pastor-on-paper, but that I would not truly be pastor unless and until I became pastor in the hearts of the people. I went on to share that wisdom with Mayor Bill Foster in my remarks. Likewise, he is now a mayor-on-paper, but that it was up to him to now win the hearts of the people.

Though some construed and misconstrued those remarks to be an insult to our newly elected Mayor, let me say unequivocally that it was not my intent to cast doubt on the bona fide electoral victory of our Mayor. And my remarks certainly did not reflect – as Times reporter Sandra Gadsden suggests – any lingering “bitterness” about the failed candidacy of Kathleen Ford. As I’ve shared with Mayor Foster one-on-one, I will do all that I can to support his leadership.

It was my intention to convey to the elected officials, civic leaders, CEOs and the nearly 1,000 attendees that we should all accept the challenge to do far more than mark Dr. King’s birthday with pomp, circumstance and ceremony.

But in the spirit of Dr. King, silence in a time of moral crisis is a betrayal.

A point that is often overlooked in the politics of race and poverty is that the black middle class is a miracle success story of the post-civil rights era. Indeed, my church and others on the Southside are full of educated, equipped, professional, active people.

But at the same time, the streets are full-to-overflowing with a generation - black and white – born to the intergenerational bondage of poverty –financial and spiritual.

What burned in my heart at this Monday’s King breakfast – like every other Pastor I know – is something that cannot be summed up in a four-minute sound byte; and something that should not die on the vine of political correctness.

What burns in my heart is to see a people without vision who perish day-after-day. The scripture tells us:

Matt 9:36-38 – But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. ³⁷Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; ³⁸Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. (King James Version)

The misunderstanding of the intent of my statement and the criticism which has accompanied this misunderstanding pales in comparison with the ultimate sacrifice made by Dr. King and the other martyrs whose lives were committed to truth, justice and equality.