Event to recreate 'I Have a Dream' speech

SANDUSKY — Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech will be performed as part of Sandusky's celebration of the Martin Luther King Day federal holiday on Jan. 19. John H. McCants Jr., pastor of St. Paul AME Church in Canton, will perform the speech at 1:10 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 19, at Sandusky High School auditorium. The community is invited to attend. The event will begin with a reception at 12:30 p.m. with soft drinks and finger foods prepared by the EHOVE Career Center Culinary Arts Institute. After McCants delivers the speech, portraying King, the audience will be invited to ask questions with McCants staying in character. The event will finish at 2 p.m. McCants is known for his portrayals of King. King gave his speech on Aug. 28, 1963, before a crowd of 250,000 people from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The speech was a highlight of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It is usually considered one of the greatest speeches ever delivered in American history. The March on Washington was hosted to help civil rights supporters push for Black people to obtain their full rights as Americans. It helped win the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) was a Baptist minister and civil rights activist who served as the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. His work was cut short when he was murdered at age 39 on April 4, 1968, in Memphis. James Earl Ray was convicted of committing the murder. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a U.S. federal holiday observed on the third Monday of January every year. King's actual birthday was on Jan. 15, but the days when the holiday is observed range from Jan. 15 to Jan. 21. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the bill to establish the holiday, which was observed for the first time on Jan. 20, 1986. The effort to create the holiday included a huge petition drive and a song by Stevie Wonder, "Happy Birthday." The speech performance is being presented by the Lange Trust and the Erie County Historical Society, with additional support from private donations. Shores and Islands Ohio is also promoting the event.