“Maintaining Infinite Hope” was the theme for the annual MLK Day ceremonies held in Rochester at the Eastman Theatre on Monday.
That phrase is related to a speech written by the famed civil rights activist, according to the Chair of the Greater Rochester Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, Simeon Banister.
“Our theme this year is built on a speech that Dr King had penned, actually never delivered, entitled Shattered Dreams,” Banister said, “and in that speech, he said that though we accept finite disappointment, we must always maintain infinite hope, and that's really what we're driving towards today.”
Banister said that in terms of equity and other issues, Rochester still has a lot of work to do, but he added that building a more equitable community can make it more successful.
Banister said that King was focused not only on civil rights, but on how people engage with one another.
“And one of the beautiful things about Dr. King is he reminds us of the better angels of our nature, and that we can be better as a nation and as a community,” Banister said. “And that's a big part of what we want to remind people of today and inspire them as well.”
Similar themes were voiced by Rev. Sebrone Johnson of Greater Harvest Church In Rochester, who was keynote speaker for Monday's event.
“Every problem is filled with possibilities, that if we didn't have any problems, there'd be nothing for us to do,” Johnson said. “So it's not optimal, it's not what we want. But we take this opportunity, we seize the moment, and we begin building up Rochester to what Rochester is supposed to be.”
Johnson said that despite the challenges members of his church are facing, there is a need to keep working for a better community.
“They do feel it. They're tired. And so church is a great place to be reinvigorated and reenergized to go out and fight the fight again,” said Johnson. “ And we know that we're not going to stop until this is over, which means we're not going to stop.”
