By Eric Timmons, etimmons@qconline.com

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Photo: Gary Krambeck Rev. Dwight Ford will be the new director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Rock Island. Rev. Ford is shown above delivering a speech at the 29th Annual Memorial Service in Honor of Dr. King at the center in Rock Island Jan. 16, 2012.

Photo: Todd Welvaert Tristan Johnson, 3, and Kaden Johnson, 7, Davenport, listen to speakers at the Martin Luther King Jr., memorial service Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, at the River Music Experience in Davenport.

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Photo: Todd Welvaert Brothers Caleb Woodard, 17, and Xavier Woodard, 8, Bettendorf, play in a drum circle following a Martin Luther King Jr., memorial service Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, at the River Music Experience in Davenport.

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Photo: Todd Welvaert Hal Reed and Nate Lawrence talk about their memories of the Civil Rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., at The River Music Experience in Davenport, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012.

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Photo: Gary Krambeck Ramsey Vesey with his 11 year-old son Ramsey Vesey Jr. listen to the various speakers at the 29th Annual Memorial Service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Martin Luther King Center in Rock Island Monday Jan. 16.

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Photo: Gary Krambeck Brenda Lee from the Community Church of God in East Moline sing a song during the 29th Annual Memorial Service in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Martin Luther King Center in Rock Island Monday Jan. 16.

Hundreds gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Rock Island on Monday to celebrate the life and legacy of its namesake.

Guest speaker Rev. Dwight Ford called on those present to look beyond the "sanitized" version of Dr. King and remember a man who had embarked on the Poor People's Campaign for economic justice shortly before he was murdered in 1968.

"The beautiful King monument in all its splendor" recently unveiled in Washington, D.C., must not replace the substance of Dr. King's work, Rev. Ford said.

In a stirring oration, he asked the audience to live by Dr. King's exhortation to confront "the fierce urgency of now" and to continue to work to overcome racism and poverty.

"I'm afraid this country has gone from a war on poverty to a war on poor people," he said.

Rev. Ford grew up in Rock Island and now is executive director of the Eastern Nebraska Community Action Partnership.

He said it was important that his generation transferred responsibility to a new generation by highlighting the problems faced by society today and not simply looking back on the civil rights movement.

"We essentially lock them out of the movement, and our movement becomes a museum," he said.

"So we must reveal to them the crisis of 'this' and the urgency of 'now'," he said.

He criticized an America where the poor often stay poor even when they work two jobs, where health care is far too expensive and where materialism reigns.

"If you have to stand in line at a food pantry, if you have to stand in line for emergency help, you hold your head high," he told the audience. "It's not the weak that ask for help, it's the strong."

He also told the audience to keep faith in the bonds of community.

"Never refer to your neighborhood as a 'hood'," he said. "If you remove the word neighbor, what do you expect of your community."

Other speaking at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center Monday included Rock Island Mayor Dennis Pauley, U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling, R-Colona, state Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, and state Rep. Pat Verschoore, D-Milan.

"Here's a man that saw a cause greater than himself," Rep. Schilling said. "The thing that we have to do is to make sure his dream never dies."

There was plenty of song and prayer, but the biggest round of applause was for Ida Robinson who will retire at the end of this month after more than 40 years of service. Jerry Jones, executive director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, announced the center's new banquet hall would be named after Ms. Robinson.

"You are a living, breathing, inspirational community legend," Mr. Jones told Ms. Robinson.

Across the river in Davenport Monday, a different kind of celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. at the River Music Experience focused on rhythm and soul.

Musicians Hal Reed and Nate Lawrence spoke of the music of the 1960s in Memphis, as well as to the blues' role in black culture and the civil rights movement.

Mr. Reed read the words of We Shall Overcome, a song of peaceful resistance that rang out at civil rights marches in the 1950s and 1960s. The room fell somber as Mr. Lawrence read an account of the assassination of Dr. King at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis in 1968.

"The fight for social equality and social justice remain an ongoing battle," Mr. Lawrence said.

Organized with the help of Americorps and Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the event included music by The Candymakers and an address by U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Mount Vernon, who asked those gathered to volunteer in the community as a way of honoring Dr. King's legacy.

"It seems as though we are almost in a hopeless place politically, but that's not the case," he said. "People need to know they can make a difference."




MLK Day Award Winners:

Awards presented Monday at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center included:

-- Rock Island High School Youth Essay - Tyia Schauland

-- Earl Hanson Elementary School Youth Essay - Katie Moore

-- Washington Jr. High School - Elizabeth Moore

-- Tia Farrah-Rice Youth Award - Jalea Jackson

-- Black Hawk Scholarship - Bryanne Trice

-- "I Have a Dream" Award - Ramsey Vesey