24 | FEBRUARY 9 • 2023 

L

ift every voice and sing,

Till earth and heaven 
ring,
Ring with the harmonies of 
liberty …”
LaRiesa Croft’s voice lifted 
to the high heavens as she 
led the community in singing 
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” 
at the Second Baptist Church 
of Detroit, accompanied by 
Amy Davis Jackson on the 
piano. On Jan. 15, the hymn 
was sung as the community 
gathered to remember, honor 
and celebrate the memory, 
impact and legacy of Rev. Dr. 
Martin Luther King Jr. on his 
birthday. 
The event brought together 
a panel of faith and lay lead-
ers from all three Abrahamic 
religions to reflect on King’s 
speech “Rediscovering Lost 
Values.” The speech was deliv-
ered at the very same church 
on Feb. 28, 1954, when King 
was just 25 years old. 
The panel included Rabbi 

Ariana Silverman (Isaac Agree 
Downtown Synagogue), Rev. 
Lawrence Rodgers (Senior 
Pastor at Second Baptist 
Church of Detroit) and 
Dr. Saeed Kahn (Resident 
Scholar at Jewish Community 
Relations Council/AJC 
and Associate Professor of 
Teaching in Near Eastern 
Studies at Wayne State 
University).
Before the panel, the com-
munity listened to the original 
recording of King’s speech. 
In 1954, when King stood 
before the congregation of 
the Second Baptist Church of 
Detroit, he implored those 
gathered, “[T]hat all reality 
hinges on moral foundations 
and that all reality has spiri-
tual control.” 
King stressed that America 
has left God behind and that 
to move forward toward a just 
future, we must go back and 
rediscover and recommit to 
God. 

King implored that just as 
there are absolute physical 
laws, there are also absolute 
moral laws in the universe. 
“It’s wrong to hate. It always 
has been wrong and it always 
will be wrong,” King said. 
Panel members each reflect-
ed on King’s speech. The idea 
for an interfaith panel origi-
nated four years earlier with 
Muriel Smith, president of 
the Board of Christian Social 

Concerns and chairperson 
of the day’s event at Second 
Baptist Church of Detroit. 
Smith grew up at the Second 
Baptist Church of Detroit and 
witnessed King deliver this 
speech in person. 
She recalls how empowered 
and mobilized the Second 
Baptist congregation members 
were by King, “Second Baptist 
Church donated more money 
to Rev. Dr. King’s cause than 

OUR COMMUNITY

An interfaith panel and 
musical celebration mark the 
commemoration of the civil 
rights leader’s birthday.

Celebrating
 MLK’s Dream

STORY AND PHOTOS BY
YEVGENIYA GAZMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Co-Chair Rev. Dr. 
Deedee Coleman 
and Co-Director Mark 
Jacobs of the Coalition 
for Black and Jewish 
Unity.

The audience listens to 
a recording of MLK from 
1954 at Second Baptist 
Church of Detroit.

