BonnerSprings.com

Bonner Springs was filled with celebration Monday as the 22nd annual Bonner Springs/Edwardsville Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration got under way.

“We are here to celebrate,” said Nina Kimbrough-Smith, who was the moderator of the event.

Smith had the audience stand and participate as much as possible throughout the event. The energy of the sanctuary at the First Christian Church hit an high as several musical acts performed.

From the NAACP 100 Year Choir to Singspiration Musicians, it was clear that audience members of Monday’s event were there to celebrate the life Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the service he brought to their country.

The keynote speaker of the celebration was Javan Owens, a 1985 graduate of Bonner Springs High School and the chief of the Family Advocacy Program for the United States Army in Ft. Lewis, Washington.

Owens speech centered around the theme, “Civil Rights to Civil Discourse – A new road map to community.”

Owens said that today people are focused on themselves, and the lack of a sense of community has lead to more and more rage and incivility throughout the country.

He proposed that the way to get into a community mindset, and further the dream started by King, is to start with the truth.

“Community must be not standing together against something, but rather standing together for something,” he said.

To hear more about what Owens said will bring peace to the country, check back with Thursday’s edition of The Chieftain.

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