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Fitch: Continue dream of MLK

Bruce Matlock photo

Bobbie Sharpe (right) glances at her 9-year-old granddaughter, Gabriel Sharpe, who didn't quite make it to the end of the 15th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast after waking up at 5 a.m. Monday.

By Donna Swicegood | Statesville R&L

Published: January 19, 2010

It's been more than 40 years since Martin Luther King Jr. died, but the ideas he espoused are still very much in the forefront.

That was part of the message Judge Milton (Toby) Fitch Jr. delivered Monday at the 15th annual Martin Luther King Day Community Prayer Breakfast at the Statesville Civic Center.

Fitch, who hails from Wilson and is a Superior Court judge in District 7B, told the capacity crowd that Statesville and Iredell County represent a community that can move past differences.

He said the capital campaigns that made the new Fifth Street Shelter and Boys & Girls Club of the Piedmont possible are examples of how this community can come together.

"That a town of 28,000 could raise $10.5 million is an example," he said. "You should bottle this spirit and send it Washington, D.C."

The accomplishments and gains in racial equality aside, Fitch said, much remains to be done.

"Just because you've got a black president doesn't mean you're free," he said. "Our work is not done."

He said the idea of superior and inferior races is one that needs to be abandoned totally.

Fitch said the goal of equality is not just a local or national one, but a global one.

"An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," he said.

The situation in Haiti wasn't far from the minds of those attending the breakfast, and Fitch spoke of the need to help that island nation recover from the earthquake.

"We must truly come together as brothers and sisters," he said.

Dorie Shore, chairman of the MLK committee, encouraged those in attendance to continue working toward the dreams of King.

"Don't just practice it today. Martin Luther King meant for it to be every day," she said. "We need to live for the faith, the hope, the peace, the love everyday, not just today."