By Geena Monahan—For the North Star Reporter
Community members, faith leaders and elected officials gathered Monday, Jan. 19, for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Committee of Greater Attleboro’s 39th annual commemoration, marking the holiday with a two-part ceremony that emphasized nonviolence as both a guiding principle and urgent response to today’s political climate.
Held first at Attleboro City Hall and later at Central Congregational Church of Attleboro Falls, the event brought together voices from government, the arts and multiple faiths under one theme – “The sword that heals: Protecting freedom, justice and democracy through nonviolence.”
The ceremony opened shortly after 1 p.m, where Ethel Garvin, chair of the committee, set the tone by acknowledging the unease many are now feeling amid national and global turmoil.
“People are dismayed, discouraged, fearful, and frustrated as they witness the democratic ideals established at the founding of this nation — and those that came from the civil rights movement — being chipped away at,” said Garvin. “Dr. King’s principles of nonviolent action can help provide a path forward and give encouragement.”
Her remarks echoed throughout the day: honoring King’s legacy requires continuing his work.
Mayor Cathleen DeSimone reinforced that message, describing nonviolence not as a single movement or protest, but as a way of life rooted in engagement rather than withdrawal. At a time when polarization feels overwhelming, she said King’s teachings remind people that lasting change does not come from fists or weapons, but “from hearts anchored in justice and voices raised in truth.”
Art and reflection also played a central role throughout the afternoon. Geraldine Fequiere recited a poem titled “I Have a Dream,” calling on listeners to imagine a better world shaped by unity and shared purpose.
“The circle of life keeps spinning around, we are the colors of the rainbow found,” read Fequiere. “Not just black or white but all the shades, unity and love, that’s how change is made.”
State Rep. Adam Scanlon (D-North Attleborough), placed King’s legacy in a constitutional context. He noted that many of the country’s most significant civil rights advancements emerged from moral courage guided by law and paired with sustained nonviolent action. Landmark court decisions like Brown v. Board of Education and Gideon v. Wainwright, he said, were made through boycotts, marches and civil disobedience that transformed legal principles into lived reality.
“Nonviolence became the force that cut through injustice without destroying the rule of law,” said Scanlon.
A call for hope and action
From City Hall, the remembrance moved to Central Congregational Church of Attleboro Falls, which was filled with music, prayer and testimony from an interfaith coalition reflecting the diversity King envisioned.
Performances by the Interfaith Coalition Singers of Greater Boston and Spirit of Excellence Dance Studio of Brockton were interwoven with prayers and reflections from faith leaders, including Aamer Ahmed of the Islamic Society of Greater Attleboro, retired pastor Cherly Harris, and Rabbi Sara Klugman of Congregation Agudas Achim.
The program’s keynote address was delivered by Meghan Irons, a professor of impact journalism at Boston University, who blended history, storytelling and contemporary witness. Irons urged the audience to stay close to one another in difficult times – to lock arms and hearts, and remember who they are and what they stand for.
“Now, more than ever, is when we need to dig deep within ourselves and tap into that reservoir of hope, determination and love to stand by our most vulnerable people,” said Irons.
Irons traced King’s early life on “Sweet Auburn” Avenue in Atlanta, describing a childhood shaped by possibility and profound injustice. His father was raised in a vibrant black community during a brief window of post-Reconstruction prosperity, and King learned early what America could be – and what it often denied. Experiences with segregation and racism followed him from childhood into adolescence, sharpening his resolve in his teenage years.
Yet Irons also portrayed King as deeply human: a young man who loved ice cream, avoided chores, played Monopoly and pranked his siblings – someone unsettled by the world around him while searching for his place in it. What set him apart, she said, was a willingness to play the long game, to train for nonviolence and make an intellectual and moral case for human dignity.
“When King was in his prime, he was part of the resistance,” said Irons. “He was labeled a terrorist, a communist, a rabble-rouser. And still, he did not give up.”
Irons closed by urging the audience to carry King’s legacy forward through tangible acts: looking out for vulnerable neighbors, engaging in local government, using their voices, supporting independent journalism, voting, and refusing silence in the face of injustice.
As the Interfaith Coalition Singers lifted the mood with “This Little Light of Mine,” one singer paused to reflect on the song’s enduring power – a reminder that while an individual light may seem small, together, those lights can grow into a flame strong enough to dispel darkness.
To remember King’s message, said Irons, is to “accept finite disappointment without losing infinite hope” – and to carry that lesson beyond a single day into daily civic life.
“As we bear witness to mayhem and bloodshed inflamed by the federal government, and as we watch the civil rights gains that Dr. King fought for being stripped away, it can seem really difficult to see our way out of a slide backwards into darkness,” said Irons. “Hope, King said, is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.”