Re***ector Daily The N.C.

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“I hope we all remember the true importance of this day and Dr. King’s legacy,” Thomas said.

An authentic life is one lived in service to others, the keynote speaker said Monday at the 15th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Community Unity Breakfast at East Carolina University’s Murphy Center.

The theme of this year’s breakfast, hosted by the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce, re***ected on King’s example to Americans of personal service to his community and nation and his sacrifice for the causes of liberty and justice.

No one in Greenville personify that theme more than keynote speaker and lifelong resident Dr. Thomas Irons, ECU associate vice chancellor for health sciences and professor of pediatrics, said Virginia Hardy, the university’s vice chancellor for student affairs.

Irons reminded the guests of a quote from King: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”

Irons shared anecdotes of how his parents, both physicians, taught him lessons about community service and respect for all people. He echoed King’s sentiment by telling his audience that “to live authentically is to serve, and when we are serving, we are living.”

Irons said the most important step toward individual and community maturity is the ability to su***ugate one’s personal need***or the betterment of others.

The pediatrician again quoted King, saying, “10,000 fools proclaim themselves into obscurity, while one wise man forgets himself into immortality. We are here today about forgetting ourselves.”

After his official presentation, Irons re***ected on his personal memories of King.

“I remember his insistence that the only hope we h***e is in loving one another, that the only answer we h***e ***ailable against violence is non-violence, and the only hope we h***e for our society to recover the moral high ground is to set aside our material selfishness and turn outside of ourselves toward others,” Irons said.

Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas told the audience of several hundred, including many elected and university officials, that despite their challenges, the diversity among the city’s leaders is an example of progres***or all the community to proudly follow.

“I hope we all remember the true importance of this day and Dr. King’s legacy,” Thomas said.

Susanne Sartelle, president of the chamber of commerce, closed the breakfast by telling guests about the city’s “overwhelming and frightening” poverty level of about 26 percent.

“So many people wonder what they can do to help. The answer is to do for one what you wish you could do for many,” Sartelle said.

The breakfast wa***ollowed by a commemorative march from Thomas Foreman Park to the Pitt County Courthouse and a rally sponsored independently by the Pitt County Coalition Against Raci***.

The rally focused attention on the struggles of the working class, for whom King frequently advocated, with presentations by Greenville sanitation workers, who pledged to continue their effort***or improved working conditions. Pastor Randy Royal of Phillippi Church of Christ reminded the audience that King was in Memphis, Tenn., advocating for sanitation workers when he was assassinated.

Representative***rom the N.C. Hear Our Public Employees (HOPE) Coalition, Public Service Workers’ Union Local 150 and the N.C. Association of Educators also appraised attendees about the state of organizing efforts in North Carolina. Their goal is the repeal of the state law that prohibits collective bargaining for public workers, said Ashaki Benta of the United Electrical Workers and Black Worker***or Justice.

Thomas pledged his and the Greenville City Council’s unified efforts to provide dignity and justice for all and to work for policies that give all residents an opportunity for success.

Contact Michael Abramowitz at mabramowitz # re***ector.com or 252-329-9571.

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