AME Bishop McKenzie Delivers MLK Speech In Hampton

HAMPTON

Bishop Vashti McKenzie urged attendees at the 27th Annual  Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast sponsored by  the Delta Beta Lambda chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity to “Stay the course … be disciplined and have passion.”

McKenzie who is the Presiding Bishop in the 13th Episcopal District of the African American Episcopal Church is the denomination’s first female bishop. Speaking to several hundreds who gathered at the Hampton Roads Convention Center last Saturday morning to observe the annual birthday of Dr. King, McKenzie delivered a stirring tribute to King and issued a charge to “look to the future, meet each new day as a challenge and don’t dwell on the past.”

Drawing from speeches delivered by the slain civil rights leader, McKenzie called on her audience to focus attention on meeting the challenges of life through service to other people.

The community service award was presented to James Andrew “Poo” Johnson, senior vice president of the Boys and Girls Club of the Virginia Peninsula. Johnson was recognized for more than 43 years of leadership and service to the community.

Hampton Mayor Molly Ward was recognized received the leadership award for her support and aid in securing national monument status for Fort Monroe.

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