Martin Luther King Observance

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Rachel Kocin
  • 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was honored during an observance ceremony, Jan. 25, 2008, at the Holloman Air Force Base Community Center. This event was held in remembrance of what Dr. King Jr. accomplished for African Americans in the United States.

This ceremony included guest speaker Pastor James E. Forney, retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant, a poem read by Senior Airman Anthony Nelson, 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs office, a mime dancing and a rendition of Dr. King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech by Mr. Chris Rollerson, a leader of the Alamogordo Corinth Baptist Church.

Pastor Forney spoke about Dr. King's life and his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement.

"This program is an awesome tribute to the free world. If Martin Luther King hadn't ever opened the doors, we wouldn't have been able to obtain the ranks we have if he didn't accomplish what he did," said Pastor Forney, "He is a product of what Dr. King Jr. accomplished."

The program also included acknowledgement of Holloman AFB Middle School and Yucca Elementary School students' essay and picture painting submissions. The students from both these schools were asked to either write an essay or paint a picture portraying what they felt Dr. King Jr. accomplished for the United States. During the ceremony, the winning essay was read.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on Jan. 15, 1929. He attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen. He directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his speech, "I Have a Dream." In 1963, he was named Man of the Year by Time magazine and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks, but also a world figure. Dr. King Jr. was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of thirty-five.

While standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tenn., on the evening of April 4, 1968, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy for striking garbage workers, he was assassinated.

The Military Equal Opportunity (MEO) assigns a squadron to head of this annual function. This year it was sponsored by 46 Test Group.