MLK Jr. Holiday Commission Chair: 'Help Mankind Throughout the Year' (with VIDEO)

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr., Howard County recognized Jan. 17 as a day of service, with government officials volunteering at the Howard County Food Bank rather than treating the holiday as a "day off."

"This service should not be limited to one day, but should encourage all of us to extend ourselves to help mankind throughout the year," wrote Mavis Lewis, chair of Howard County's Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission. Lewis' statement was published in the Jan. 16 program for the , which the commission sponsors.

"Dr. King said everybody can be great because everybody can serve," remarked Dr. C. Vernon Gray of the Human Rights Commission at Sunday's celebration. "You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to have your subjects and verbs to agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love. I ask you to go forth from this place to serve others in the name of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."

In a performance full of grace, Lezlie Hatcher of St. John Baptist Church in Columbia gave a dramatic presentation of Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise" (see video). From the Smith Theatre at Howard Community College, Hatcher drove home the idea that no matter one's surroundings, inner strength will prevail. That message of honoring resources within was also a thread woven into the guest speaker's message.

Guest speaker Roslyn Brock, chair of the NAACP's national board of directors, told Patch that she believes Dr. King's dream is alive and well within the county. Instead, she thought other areas proved more challenging.

“I see a willingness among citizens to work together in Howard County, but outside of that, it’s different," said Brock, who sees a lot of the world—she lives in Elkridge, works in Marriotsville as vice president of advocacy and government relations for Bon Secours Health System, and travels the nation on weekends for the NAACP. Back at home, she said, "Elkridge and Howard County have been very good to me, and I believe we really live Dr. King’s dream every day.”

To continue on that path, Lewis provided guidance for the future: "Remember it is the little things that create differences; in the big things in life we are as one. May we strive to help somebody as we pass along the way so our living shall not be in vain."