BY DEBBIE PAGE
Troutman residents and elected officials celebrated the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on Friday morning at the Town of Troutman’s fifth annual breakfast and day of service at the Career Academy and Technical School. Town Manager Justin Longino thanked the school system and the volunteers and performers who helped make the event possible.
Principal Larry Rogers welcomed the crowd of about 150 to the gathering that “shows community solidarity, appreciation, and reflection on how we are keeping Dr. King’s ideas alive and making the promise of democracy real.”
Rogers also thanked all of the hard-working and caring people in the room “who are tending to Dr. King’s dream every day by embracing and lifting up, and being there for everyone in our community.”
Mallory Watson, a member of the South Iredell High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes leadership team, gave the blessing before the breakfast buffet, asking all to join in unity, fellowship, and reflection to make real change in the community through service, compassion, and justice for all as community members work toward a stronger, kinder Troutman for generations to come.
Following the viewing of the King’s iconic “I Have A Dream” speech, the SIHS Black History Club Choir sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” followed by a choir member sharing the story of James Weldon Johnson’s composition of the hymn.
Troutman Mayor Teross Young commented on the shared responsibility to carry King’s legacy forward.
“The time is always right to do what is right,” the mayor said, echoing the civil rights leader. “Those words feel especially powerful in moments like this when we pause from our routines to reflect on who we are as a community and who we aspire to be.”
“His message was meant for everyday people in towns just like ours, people who believe that compassion is strength, justice is worth the effort, and progress is something to build together,” he added. “Troutman is at its best when we look out for one another, when we listen generously, and when we choose unity over division.”
Mayor Young called all to action to live out King’s words and “be the kind of community that reflects the dream rooted in justice, equality, and love.”
SIHS student Micah Boatwright’s a cappella version of “Change is Gonna Come,” followed by an oration about King’s work during the civil rights movement, earned a standing ovation.
Iredell-Statesville Schools Director of Community Engagement Marlene Scott introduced her husband and the keynote speaker, Todd Scott, noting his decades of community service, social justice work and advocacy, and decorated military service in the 101st Airborne.
Scott, who serves as president of the Statesville Branch NAACP, said King inspired a little kid who grew up on Chestnut Grove Road on a 94-acre farm with an outhouse. Scott worked on the farm from a young age and got caught driving wheat to the processor at age 12. He stuttered throughout his school years until speech lessons helped him overcome his speech impediment.
Scott said he was also inspired by the grace that the King family showed after MLK’s mother, Alberta Williams King, was assassinated while playing the organ at her church in Atlanta in 1974. The family asked that the shooter — Marcus Wayne Chenault — be spared the death penalty.
“How many of us would have done that?” Scott asked.
After noting the story of Cain and Abel, he asked audience a simple question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
“If we are honest, that same question echoes today in our politics, in our budgets, and especially in how we treat children,” he said. “Dr. King believed that the true measure of a society is not found in its speeches but in its priorities. Budgets are moral documents. They reveal what we value and who we are willing to leave behind.”
King shifted his focus in later years to economic justice, Scott explained, because “civil rights without economic justice is incomplete freedom.”
Scott also criticized those modern leaders who shrug off societal problems and needs in favor of winning. Using the fear of the “other” to gain votes may help candidates, but that strategy also causes divisions in our society.
“Budget reveal priorities, and too often the most vulnerable are the first to be cut,” he told the audience. “Ignoring suffering is a political choice — and a moral one.”
Scott lamented that division is increasing, “but that needs to change. Outrage is amplified, compromise is mocked, civility is seen as a weakness, and it shouldn’t be.
“If you are trying to work with someone for the betterment of the community, you shouldn’t be mocked for that,” he said.
Scott warned the crowd that silence is often mistaken for neutrality, and said King warned against societies losing their moral compass.
Scott also railed against the N.C. General Assembly for failing NC children, for being the only state legislature in the nation that has not passed a budget, and for its poor funding of public schools, and for some of the lowest teacher compensation in the nation (43rd).
Poor children come to school 2.5 years behind, teachers leave the profession to take higher paying jobs to take care of their families, and students graduate without the tools they need to succeed because of the legislature’s failure to do its constitutional duty to fully fund public educational needs, added Scott.
“Being our brother’s keeper does not mean we all agree,” he said. “It means we care. It’s holding leaders accountable but also holding ourselves accountable for how we speak, how we listen, how we vote, and how we love.”
Scott concluded by asking attendees if Jesus came to visit, would they act the same or change their words and actions to follow Jesus’s words and example.
After a brief MLK biography, the choir sang “Every Praise is Our God,” feature a solo by Boatright.
Iredell-Statesville Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeff James noted that the 2.5-year learning gap for economically disadvantaged children entering kindergarten in the county and nationwide is not the fault of teachers or the public education system.
“We all own that,” he said.
The only solution is universal Pre-K or for at least those who are impoverished, to close that gap.
“Do we really want to fix the problem? We have the wherewithal to do so.”
Being an educator is a calling, with teachers “pouring back into the life of our children and giving them something back that maybe we did not get in school,” he added.
He noted that the first African-American teacher at his school saw his potential and caught him up academically to the point James was selected for academically gifted classes the next year.
“One caring teacher made a difference.”
“Dr. King’s philosophical legacy was practical — the daily work of shaping the minds of our future – our kids.”
Though low property taxes are appreciated by most, James noted the societal cost. “Out of 100 counties, we are funded 98th in this state. In performance, we were number 20 in the niche market in the U.S. News and World Report.”
I-SS has cut staff and costs. The system is in “desperate need of additional funding — wherever it comes from — to keep the programs we’ve got.”
“I’m not proud, as a person who was born and raised here, to have the future of this community not get what they deserve. When I came through, I did,” James said.
He thanked volunteers and the faith-based community who have tried to fill the gaps, along with organizations like the Boys & Girls Club.
James concluded his remarks by recounting King’s view that “intelligence alone is not enough. It must be coupled with character. I would also go as far as to say action.”
“A whole lot of words are on social media. Let’s take all that energy and put it into action. We’d be a much better world,” the superintendent said. “Let’s do it — not just say it.”
SIHS Assistant Principal Lisa Scott concluded the event by announcing the morning’s MLK Service Project, a cleanup of the SIHS campus and roadside, and invited attendees to join in the effort.
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