The dream lives on
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on January 19, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Evangelist Esther Perara raises her hands in support after hearing Majesty Rose's rendition of "Flags" in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the City of Goldsboro Annual MLK Jr. Celebration at Goldsboro-Raleigh District Assembly on Monday.
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Carolyn McKinstry speaks about her experiences in Birmingham, Ala., during the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church.
For the Rev. Dr. Carolyn McKinstry, every aspect of her life was segregated growing up in Birmingham, Ala.
Her grandmother was brought to Birmingham by her grandfather because she was sick -- but the hospital denied her entry because she was black.
When the hospital eventually admitted her grandmother for treatment, they stuck her in the basement -- and Mrs. McKinstry sat with her grandmother for two weeks while she died.
Mrs. McKinstry was only 10 years old. Her grandmother was 54.
"We never knew why she had to die," she said. "We never really found out why she was sick."
This, she says, was her first encounter with racism and segregation, and is one of the events that would lead her to becoming a vocal activist for equality and unity among communities.
It is one of the many reasons why she was the guest speaker this morning at the Goldsboro-Raleigh District Assembly to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
She was preceded in her speech by several prominent community members. Mayor Al King and County Commissioner Ed Cromartie welcomed the audience, and Majesty Rose sang for the crowd. Congressman G.K. Butterfield gave the audience a brief history of the life and work of Martin Luther King, and Mrs. McKinstry was introduced by Martin Luther King committee member Patricia Stokes.
"Fifty years ago an assembly like this wouldn't have been possible in Birmingham," Mrs. McKinstry said. "Martin Luther King called Birmingham a 'city of hardcore resistance.'"
When Mrs. McKinstry was 14 years old, she was in church when the walls came crashing down around her.
During a service at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, the church was bombed -- killing four of her close friends, and injuring one more, leaving that friend without an eye.
"I felt sick inside," she said. "The bomb went off at 10:22 a.m. I didn't know my friends had died until 3 p.m. I didn't go to the funeral. We didn't talk about it after it happened because we didn't feel like there was anything we could do. There had been 80 unsolved bombings at the time, and we didn't think anything would be done about it."
Only one year later, while she was sleeping, part of her home came crashing in on her family at 3 a.m. A neighbors house had been bombed, and it was so violent that it caused damage to her house as well.
"I could feel everything collapsing around me," Mrs. McKinstry said. "And all you could hear was horrible, horrible screaming."
Then, shortly after these two events, a catalyst of change strolled in the front door of her church.
"I was the Sunday school secretary for the church at the time," she said. "I was in the back keeping busy by working on the books when I heard songs being sung and these fiery voices coming from the sanctuary. I walked out and there were six men behind the podium -- one of them was Dr. Martin Luther King. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew I wanted to be a part of it."
After witnessing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in action, Mrs. McKinstry became active in the civil rights movement, braving the infamous police dogs and fire hoses that were used on blacks in the 1960s in an attempt to effect change in her community.
And that is the message she wanted to spread Monday morning -- to effect change, Goldsboro must follow in the footsteps of civil rights activists and become involved in their community.
And, she said, we must all act as one.
"Goldsboro, we have the power to begin the world over again," she said, speaking to the hundreds of audience members in attendance Monday morning. "America will never be perfect, because people aren't perfect -- but we can live in unity if we have the desire to do so."
Also, she told the crowd, this mission of creating unity is not one that will simply fade away. According to the United States Census, there will be no majority race by 2040. This means we must learn to unite and do what is best for all of us, she said.
"There is still much work to be done if we are to build unity in our communities," Mrs. McKinstry said. "America must rid itself of its preoccupation with race if we are to move forward."
And to accomplish this, she said, we must learn to forgive.
"After what I experienced when I was young, I was miserable and afraid a lot of the time," she said. "But to really live we must forgive. If I have a motto it is 'forgive to live.' We weren't built to hate. We have to forgive so that we can move on."