Wendy Gerbier sings "Precious Lord Take my
Hands" as a special tribute to Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. during the memorial service and
national holiday honoring at Norwalk City Hall
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By ROBERT KOCH Hour Staff Writer
NORWALK - Several hundred people who came to Norwalk City Hall Monday night to recall the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were
told to look among and in themselves for heroes.
The Rev. Lindsay E. Curtis, pres¬ident of the Norwalk Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and
. pastor at Grace Baptist Church in South Norwalk, said much has been made of King's "I Have A Dream" speech - especially those
parts where King spoke about the content of one's character and the color of one's skin.
"But I think the message Dr. King sends to all of us ... is that there is an urgency of the moment. If you're looking for role models, if
you're looking for heroes, I would suggest to you that you merely turn to your right, turn to your left. Perhaps. you're looking at a role
model," Cur¬tis said. "Now is the time. If there is something for you to do, if there is .something that you want someone to do, why not
you? And if not you, then who?"
About 300 people, including elect¬ed officials and clergy attended the City-wide Memorial Observance of the National Holiday
Honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. held in the concert auditorium of City Hall.
And while more than a half-dozen raised their hands when asked who had been in Washington, D.C., in August 1963 and heard King
Jr. deliver his famous "I Have A Dream" speech, speakers Monday reminded that one need not have crossed paths with King to carry
his legacy forward.
"It's that simple determination that will take us from where we are to where we need to be, and were not going to be frustrated,
because somebody is not going to like us," said Rev. Henry P. Davis III of First Baptist Church of• Highland Park, Landover, Md., guest
speaker at the observance held in the concert hall of City Hall. "The essence of who I am is strong no matter what. We're
See NORWALK, A7