Bishop McKenzie urges audience to remember MLK's legacy to keep his dream alive in the future

With a fire-and-brimstone delivery, Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie electrified a packed Pease Auditorium, urging those in the audience not to forget the past and reawaken the dream of freedom for all people that Martin Luther King, Jr., preached 40 years ago.

REMEMBERING KING: Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, the first female bishop elected in the AME Church, is all smiles as she is prepares to give a preview of her keynote address at the President's Luncheon during EMU's MLK Day celebration Jan. 17.

"Have we forgotten the past? Have we forgotten how we got here?" said McKenzie, the keynote speaker for Eastern Michigan University's MLK Day 2005 Celebration Jan. 17. "...Have we forgotten how to stand and speak up, especially for those learning their way?...Perhaps we have not forgotten. Perhaps we just may be asleep at the wheel."

McKenzie, the first female bishop elected in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, reminded the audience that King, too, had to look to the past, mentioning the efforts of the Rev. Nat Turner, in order to change the future.

To hammer the point for the predominately college-age audience, McKenzie pointed out there would be no Barry Bonds without Jackie Robinson or no Shaquille O'Neal without Bill Russell.

"Let us be sure the dream hasn't died on our watch," McKenzie said. "We must join hands to do what our mothers and fathers were not able to do. It is now in our hands. It is our turn at bat. It's up to us whether we hit a home run, bunt and get on base, or not swing the bat at all."

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