Andrea D. Smith
This year, the MLK Dream Weekend took on a whole new level of significance by incorporating the provision of substantial scholarships to Upstate high school students. It was quite encouraging to see those truly phenomenally bright students – who are already doing fantastic projects of their own – receive such great community support. The Dreams in Action Day is always filled with opportunities to get involved and participate with local students, the community, etc. Of course, the highlight of the weekend was Roland’s challenge at the MLK Diversity Banquet. His realness, abrasiveness and unadulterated, raw truth was quite refreshing. I appreciated all of his insight and his challenge to us to “WAKE UP!” and take charge of our own communities and families. I hope everyone in Greenville takes up his call to action to choose something to commit yourself to over the next 365 days for the betterment of the community. One of my favorite quotes from him that night was this: “The lunch counter sit-ins were started by FOUR college students in North Carolina and led to massive change. What can 1,100 in this room do?” Point well taken Roland. Lastly, kudos to the MLK Dream Weekend Committee for their outstanding work. I know that what you do must be a year-long labor of love and it shows. I hope you take the points Roland brought forth this year and use it to make the 2013 MLK Dream Weekend even more impactful and meaningful.
Andrea D. Smith, President, YWCA Jr. Board and Fan of the Greenville Community