Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of making a difference through nonviolence is what one local pastor and theologian says some of Rochester’s youth should reflect on. That’s after approximately 200 students were involved in a brawl at the Liberty Pole in downtown this past Thursday.
Dr. James Evans Jr. is professor of theology at the Rochester Colgate Crozer Divinity School and pastor of Saint Luke Tabernacle in Rochester. He says one of the things that young people today are missing about King's message is "hope"...
"It is out of ones hope that change actually comes," Evans says. "And he saw just random purposeless violence as simply a sign that there was no hope because it actually never really affected any change. And I think that we can see that in our own community where these out breaks of violence have nothing to do with resisting in justice. They are simply lashing out at other people out of a sense of hopelessness."
However, Evans says young people do have the potential of carrying on Dr. King's legacy. That's with the help of the community.