PROVIDING EXCEPTIONAL

MLK from page 8A up for people. That’s what this town does,” said Sulka. “So ask yourself if there are one or two people you can help, and let’s just remember what Martin Luther King stood for and be proud that we can be a force for our residents in our town and our county and our region.”

Bluffton Police Chief Joe Babkiewicz said that King was assassinated by a man with hate in his heart and prejudice,

“Let us not remember him, but just remember MLK,” said Babkiewicz. “It’s not how he died that made him a hero. It’s how Martin Luther King Jr. lived his life dedicated to equality, justice, and love. … I’m proud to say his values will always be installed within our police department.”

Kathleen Hughes, chair of the Beaufort County Democratic Party, commented about service to community.

“Bridgette understands more than most that everyone can be great because everyone can serve. To quote Dr. King, life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ That’s a value that most of us here live by,” said Hughes.

Recalling a speech King wrote and delivered to Stanford University in 1967, Pastor Eddie Patten from St. James Baptist Church said he brought about eight issues that really pressed America then, and many will find that it still presses America today.

“One of the greatest things that still pressing America today is that there is a race problem in 2023,’ Patten said. “Martin Luther King began to say to us that there are two Americas. One is beautiful America that is flowing with the milk of prosperity and the honey of opportunity. … And yet in this other America, there is a daily ugliness that persists.” Patten cited unsafe housing, impoverished communities, educational inequities and discrimination as among the issues.

Today, there are still two Americas,” Patten continued. “Martin Luther King began to say to us, even in the midst of the two Americas, that we look for a nation that is one nation that is indivisible, that is standing for liberty and justice for all.”

Gwyneth J. Saunders is a veteran journalist and freelance writer living in Bluffton.

Please join us as we celebrate the memory of the ones we love as we release butterflies over the Beaufort River

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