More than 140 people from throughout the greater Westbury area last week attended a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday celebration organized by the Turn Around New Cassel/Westbury (TANC/W) Drug Fighters.

Participants recalled the legacy of the great American civil rights leader, pacifist, and freedom fighter, through a march down Prospect Avenue in New Cassel, followed by services at Westbury African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. The birthday of Dr. King, who fought for equal rights for black Americans during the 1960s U.S. Civil Rights Movement, has traditionally had particular prominence as an American holiday in Westbury, a community with a substantial African-American population. This year, during the celebration held last Monday, Jan. 15, his life's work took on additional meaning for all sectors of Westbury, as participants related his freedom message to their fight to overcome drugs, gangs and crime in local neighborhoods and schools.

"It was one of the best programs we've had," Margaret Miller-Scott, one of the organizers of the event, reported last week. The event was attended by community members from throughout Westbury, including Town of North Hempstead Supervisor May Newburger, Town Councilwoman Doreen Banks, Superintendent of Westbury Schools Dr. Constance Clark, and local clergy.

The theme of the program was: "In recognition of what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood for - truth, righteousness, and freedom, we shall overcome drugs, gangs and crime throughout the New Cassel/Westbury Community and Westbury School District."

"It relates to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., because he is a freedom fighter too - for love, peace and humanity," said Miller-Scott.

The famous speech by Dr. King, a Christian minister, at the Civil Rights March in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 28, 1963, is perhaps the most recognizable embodiment of his fight for freedom and equal rights. "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: - 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ... ,'" he said during that unforgettable monologue. " ... I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the people's injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice ... "

"We are marching on the same platform that he marched on - freedom," noted Miller-Scott. "Just as he had a dream, our dream is to rid the streets of drugs, gangs and crime, so that someday the children can live free of drugs, gangs and crime."

The well-attended event was publicized in various sectors of the community, including The Westbury Times, and the bulletin of St. Brigid's Roman Catholic Church. The church bulletin also featured quotes from Dr. King, including this well-known one:

"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy...returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out our darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."