America’s oldest state celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. takes place every third Monday in January at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Befitting Dr. King’s status as a religious leader, the faith factor has always been unapologetically a large part of the ceremony.
"I am here today because of the power of God that lifted me up," said this year’s guest speaker, Victor Woods. Woods went to prison at age 19 on an armed robbery charge and returned to a life of crime on his release. Imprisoned a second time on charges of orchestrating a 40-million dollar credit card fraud conspiracy he finally confronted the true nature of his circumstances and made a life changing decision. Today he works with law enforcement officials, community leaders and the media to address urban violence.
"The problems of this country are too great to idly stand by and watch," Woods said. "Martin Luther King said that the greatest shame was to sit back and idly do nothing. Speaking before a crowd of several hundred, that included Governor Doyle and first lady Jessica Doyle, as well as other state and local leaders, he concluded with the hopeful observation: "God closes the doors that no one can open, and opens the doors that no one can close."
Amidst other speakers and awards of recognition handed out there was music, lots of music, performed by such groups as the Highway to Heaven band, the Mt. Zion Baptist Church Children’s Choir and the MLK Celebration Choir. Titles included To God be the Glory, Swing Low, Amazing Grace, and When the Saints Go Marching In.
Here is a video featuring some of the sights and sounds of the Wisconsin Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration: