Peabody honors MLK

PEABODY – The city’s first ever Martin Luther King breakfast Monday was quite the success with over 120 people filling the cafeteria at Peabody’s Torigian Community Life Center.After the guests had their fair share of scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh fruit and muffins, Mayor Michael Bonfanti came to the podium to remind everyone what they had gathered for.”Tomorrow, we will (inaugurate) the first African American president,” he said, adding that Barack Obama was elected on his ability and character, not by the color of his skin, the way King would have wanted. “This marks a major milestone in our country’s history.”Bonfanti said King “would have been proud” that the election of a black man doesn’t seem out of the ordinary to today’s youth.”Our children have become colorblind,” he said gratefully. “We’ve come a long way to making Martin Luther King’s dream come true.”Monday’s event was organized by the anti-discrimination group Peabody United, formerly known as the Peabody No Place for Hate Committee, and sponsored by area businesses and organizations.Martha Holden, Committee Chair, said her group decided to host the breakfast to “commemorate and pay respect to Martin Luther King and all the values that he stood for.”Guest speaker Ralph Edwards held the audience captive as he spoke about how King and the civil rights movement changed his life for the better. The Swampscott resident has spent years advocating for the rights of disabled people in Massachusetts through his work with the Department of Mental Retardation. His son, John Edwards, was his inspiration.”We need to understand, we need to expand and we we need to value diversity in our community,” he said, urging listeners to work for change. He said there’s still work to be done for the rights and freedoms of the poor, elderly and “not disabled, but different.” He also said people need to continue to fight for equal pay.Referencing King’s “ultimate test of man” quote, Edwards said that given the state of the economy, the time is now for Americans to work together.”The operative word is ‘we’,” he said. “It is we as a community that will make a difference. I encourage you to expand the concept and embrace diversity.”