NAACP speakers say communities should stand up to bullying, discrimination

CG online reports: NAACP speakers say communities should stand up to bullying, discrimination CHILLICOTHE --The Rev. Michael Alston called upon local residents to help carry forward Martin Luther King Jr.'s message that all men are created equal. Alston called out to those who wonder what happened to King's dream, and instead asked "What happened to us?" at the NAACP Freedom Fund banquet Saturday night. Alston, who serves as the pastor of Chillicothe's First Baptist Church, was asked to serve as the keynote speaker for the NAACP annual banquet. This year's theme was "One Nation, One Dream."

Alston went on to say a dream is impregnable, imperishable and indestructible. In short, you cannot destroy King's dream, but fail to continue to strive to make it reality. "Many things are tragically worse tonight than when King walked in our midst," he told those at the dinner. He called out the Nation's immigration policies, saying the U.S. holds different standards for Mexicans and Haitians than they did for Soviets and Jewish immigrants. He called on people to be mindful of discrimination in their communities and to stand up against it.

Master of ceremonies, the Rev. Robert Hitchens, said the current push to end bullying in schools could be applied to adults everywhere who participate in discrimination. "It's not just our young people who bully," Hitchens said. "We have groups that bully each other, races that bully each other and churches that bully other churches. We need to stand up as a nation and say, we are not that way."

Mayor Joe Sulzer also remarked on the prejudice in America many black Americans face each day. "I certainly think we as a nation have come a long way," Sulzer said. "But there's still injustices to be addressed."