By Gary Nelson / gnelson@crossville-chronicle.com
To view the video from the Diversity Day celebration, CLICK HERE.
A round of applause and cheers roared from the crowd after watching a video recording of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
Hundreds of Cumberland County residents and visitors paid tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monday during a celebration of diversity ceremony at Martin Elementary School's Little Theater.
After singing "We Shall Overcome" guests and participants in the program were invited to take part in an International Celebration with food samplings from different countries and cultures and a volunteer fair was also part of the festivities.
"This event has grown so much over the past few years. I can remember the first year we had it at The Depot and there were only about 30 to 40 people there. It really has grown into a nice thing ... ," said Steve Roberts, one of the musicians for the event.
Hundreds of people participated in honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The first reading at the event was from King's Nobel Prize acceptance speech and was read by Addie Roberts and Sara Nelson.
Presentations and speeches were given to the crowd by Lisa Brady of the Avalon Center about gender inequities; Marilyn Hall of the Rural Health Clinic of the Cumberlands about health care inequities; and by Ralph Reagan of the Bread of Life about educational inequities.
Each speaker stressed the importance of joining together and forming a united front in order to battle these inequities in our modern society.
The Fairfield Glade First Baptist Youth Choir sang two songs and Preston Hackett read a passage from Dr. King's last sermon at Ebenezer Church in Atlanta from March 1968.
Participants watched a video recording of various speeches King made including his famous "I Have a Dream" speech during the 1963 March on Washington.
The ceremony ended with participants singing "We Shall Overcome" and closing remarks from Cumberland County Director of Schools Aarona VanWinkle and Esther Crowell.
The International Celebration and Volunteer Fair following the ceremony allowed people an opportunity to try a variety of ethnic foods, see cultural differences and a chance to get information on a variety of human service nonprofit agencies in the Upper Cumberland Area.
Several performances also followed the ceremony.
Agencies participating in the Volunteer Fair included the American Red Cross, Avalon Center, Creative Compassion, Crossville Lions Club, Habitat for Humanity, Kids Inc., Kids on the Rise, Neighbors Together, Obed Watershed Community Association, PFLAG, Rural Health Clinic, Salvation Army, Stephens Center, and United Fund.
Countries and cultures represented at the fair included Peru, Armenia, Native Americans, Egypt, African-Americans and African, Appalachian, Natural Diversity, Italy, Japan, Mexican, and England.
Entertainment at the event was provided by the Turtle Clan Dancers, Hilltoppers Choir, Fairfield Glade First Baptist Youth Choir and Taiko Drummers.
Musicians included Annie Crabtree, Steve Roberts and Addie Roberts.
The event was organized and sponsored by the Celebrating Diversity Council. For more information, or to be involved in the 2009 Martin Luther King Day Celebration and the Celebrating Diversity Council, contact The Learning Community at 185 Hood Dr., Crossville, TN 38555, or call 484-2633.
