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Guests rose to their feet Monday morning to welcome the Rev. Phil Ertha, keynote speaker at the university’s 14th annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast. Ertha preached the importance of making King’s vision a reality by actively striving to achieve equality for all Americans.
“A new kind of segregation has risen,” Ertha said. Instead of separate water fountains, “we see those with homes and those without home; a segregation of homeless folks,” he explained.
Ertha, a nationally recognized preacher, said social class, education and income are creating barriers in America, not just racial discrimination.
“No longer do you see sharecroppers, but those with MasterCards in their pockets who won’t talk to those with food stamp cards in their pockets.”
“We stopped marching when we heard we were free,” Ertha declared. “It’s easy to dream. But we must wake up and carry out the dream.”
UMaine student David Patrick announced that the university’s next step toward supporting King’s dream is with a student chapter for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
More than 300 guests attended the breakfast celebration Monday morning held at the Wells Conference Center. This was the third consecutive year that UMaine has joined with the Greater Bangor Area’s branch of the NAACP to host the breakfast, which has been a tradition for more than a decade.
Gov. John Baldacci and other representatives from the Maine Legislature were also present for the breakfast. Baldacci spoke of King’s inspiring achievements in the fight against injustice but said that together we must continue to fight for justice across the world, despite small strides we may have achieved locally.
“We must be vigilant in recognizing disparity,” Baldacci said. “We together can create a current to wash down the walls of inequality and injustice.”
Ertha — a preacher, soloist and writer originally from Massachusetts — has roots in Bangor. His late uncle, John E. Ertha, graduated from UMaine in 1955, according to a brief biography in the breakfast program. Andrew Young, a 1960’s civil rights leader and personal friend of King, once heard Ertha speak and said, “He is one of the most dynamic preachers I have ever heard. He captures audiences young and old, black and white.”
“I believe President John F. Kennedy was right when he said, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, rather, what can you do for your country.’” Ertha said. “[King] said we were to forever continue the march. We must —keyword — forever continue the march.”
Ertha added before closing, “Let us ask ourselves the question, ‘What can I do for you?’”
Nearing the end of the celebration, Student Government President Brian Harris announced that two-time NAACP and Grammy Award-winning hip-hop group The Roots will perform at the university Field House on March 20. Tickets cost $15 for students and $25 for the general public and may be purchased at umainetix.com.
Bangor Daily News