Alÿcia Bacon, community engagement officer for the Berkshire Taconic Foundation, speaks at the MLK service held Price Memorial AME Church in Pittsfield.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Wendy Penner can be found pretty much everywhere: leading local initiatives to address climate change and sustainability, championing public health approaches for substance abuse, and motivating citizens to defend their rights and the rights of others.
That's all when she's not working her day job in public health, or being co-president of Congregation Beth Israel, or chairing the Williamstown COOL Committee, or volunteering on a local board.
"Wendy is deeply committed to the Northern Berkshire community and to the idea of think globally, act locally," said Gabrielle Glasier, master of ceremonies for Northern Berkshire Community Coalition's annual Day of Service.
Her community recognized her efforts with the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Peacemaker Award, which is presented to individuals and organizations who have substantially contributed to the Northern Berkshires. The award has been presented by the MLK Committee for 30 years, several times a year at first and at the MLK Day of Service over the past 20 years.
"This event is at heart a celebration of our national and local striving to live up to the ideals of Dr. King and his committed work for racial equality, economic justice, nonviolence and anti-militarism," said Penner. "There is so much I want to say about this community that I love, about how we show up for each other, how we demonstrate community care for those who are struggling, how we support and and celebrate the natural environment that we love and how we understand how important it is that every community member feels deserves to feel valued, seen and uplifted."
King's legacy is in peril "as I never could have imagined," she said, noting the accumulation of vast wealth at the top while the bottom 50 percent share only 2.5 percent the country's assets. Even in "safe" Massachusetts, there are people struggling with food and housing, others afraid to leave their homes.
In response, the community has risen to organize and make themselves visible and vocal through groups such as Greylock Together, supporting mutual aid networks, calling representatives, writing cards and letters, and using their privilege to protect vulnerable community members.
"This is more than a moment of political divide. There are structural issues in our society that have given rise to this moment," Penner said. "We stand at a pivotal moment that requires all hands on deck. What can we do? Let's use the tools that we have to find courage and community. I look around this room and I feel an abundance of hope."
The annual luncheon was held first this year in Venable Hall, with fare provided by Berkshire Food Project, Bigg Daddy's Philly Steak House and MCLA, before volunteers headed out to sites such as Sweetwood, Roots Teen Center and Louison House.
President James Birge welcomed the community, noting that "Martin Luther King among many important statements, said that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. And so today, we have to step forward and stand up for justice."
State Sen. Paul Mark, co-chair of the Mass 250 committee, said the principles of freedom and democracy the nation was founded upon 250 years ago are just as important today.
"As we continue to stay as a community and work together and support each other, nobody will ever take that from us, and Massachusetts will always lead the way into light and into service of others," he said.
In Pittsfield, song echoed through Price Memorial AME Church as community members honored King and his teachings.
Attendees pulled up the lyrics to "Lift Every Voice and Sing" on their phones so they could join in, and after the impromptu performance, separated into volunteer sites around Pittsfield.
Monday's event was held by Berkshire Community College in partnership with the Berkshire branch of the NAACP. It began with a welcome breakfast and keynote address from Alÿcia Bacon, community engagement officer for the Berkshire Taconic Foundation, and volunteers were treated to a lunch catered by BB's Hot Spot afterwards.
Service activities included crafting Valentine's Day cards for residents at Hillcrest Commons, organizing essential needs at the Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center, cleaning houses with Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity, an info session at the Christian Center, and bringing a baked good to a veteran at Soldier On.
"We continue to commit every, every day, every minute of our lives, to the things that brought about a period of social change that was also social unrest, which is obviously a sad moment that it would be like that, but it was," said BCC President Ellen Kennedy. "Today we will be out and about in the community in so many different ways, continuing to reflect the mission, vision, and values of Martin Luther King. The vision that he had for bringing us together."
Bacon, a published writer, poet, and artist, was honored to give the address in such an "unprecedented, urgent and tumultuous time." This year makes 250 years of the American experiment, she said, and just over half of century since the assassination of King.
She explained that growing up in Arizona, largely surrounded by communities of European descent, deepened her fascination with her family history. Archival research has allowed Bacon to trace her ancestry back to the early 1700s.
"I have ancestors who participated in every American war, from the Revolution to Vietnam. Enslaved ancestors from West Africa, free African Americans, and some Europeans as well," she said. "So perhaps this is ironic that, in spite of history, I have never felt less American lately."
Violence and inequity are not a part of American history, she said, they are part of the foundation.
"But what we do not say often enough is this: that overcoming of these atrocities should be among our greatest sources of pride, not because the nation was righteous, but because the people were relentless," Bacon added.
"Africans in America freed themselves. They forced this country, step by painful step, to move closer to the ideals they claim to believe in. Therefore, emancipation was not a gift. It was a victory earned through courage, organizing, and refusal. I am the descendant of these freedom fighters."
Shirley Edgerton of NAACP Berkshires pointed out that King said the ultimate tragedy is not oppression and cruelty by bad people, but the silence of good people.
"Let your voices be heard in these perilous times and continue to demand equal opportunity for all. The mission is possible," she said.
"Let us build community and unite a nation the non-violent way. When our days become dreary with low, hovering clouds of despair, Dr. King said let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, a power that is able to make a way out of nowhere and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows."
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