Voices Lifted as Oak Crest Celebrates the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

PARKVILLE, MD—“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Those words set the tone for over 170 residents, employees and special guests who attended a breakfast at Oak Crest retirement community to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The annual event, held in the Erickson Conference Center on January 21st, began with a screening of Dr. King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech from August 28, 1963.

Following the video presentation, Mark Roussey, the Associate Executive Director of Oak Crest and the event emcee, observed, “What did you see? I saw conviction, courage and strength. What did you hear? I heard a message of hope, love, peace, passion and equality. If we watched that scene and heard those words of Dr. King more often, we would all be better positioned to share the meaning and purpose of life with our fellow man.”

Oak Crest was privileged to have the Honorable Robert M. Bell, retired Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals (1996-2013), serve as the keynote speaker. He was the first African-American to hold that esteemed judicial position, and, at age sixteen, Judge Bell was the lead plaintiff in Bell v. Maryland, a case that ultimately help push the nation toward desegregation.

The Friends of the Baltimore City College Choir, under the direction of Marcus D. Smith, provided musical inspirational to the audience with five selections, including “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”