Life of Martin Luther King Jr. to Be Honored at Scarsdale Synagogue

SCARSDALE, NY — A service to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be held at the Scarsdale Synagogue at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13.

An abbreviated service will take place, after which one of the synagogue’s congregants, Alan Wachtel, will share his reflections and memories of King.

Wachtel first met King in the 1960s when his father brought the minister home for dinner.

He was King’s driver and bodyguard and considered him part of the family.

An excerpt from Wachtel’s speech:

"I met Dr. Martin Luther King when my father brought a funny, warm, black minister home for dinner [in 1960??]. I followed his coffin in Atlanta, as my family was broken-hearted and mourned with the world. My father was Dr. King's advisor, lawyer and close friend.

When Dr. King was in New York, I was his driver and bodyguard. He was part of our family. He refused to let me go to the Mississippi summer because he was convinced (rightly) that SNCC was setting up for the political impact of the killing of a white kid that summer. Indeed, Andrew Goodman, James Cheney and Michael Schwarner were killed.

In Selma, I marched with Dr. King and heard his historic speech, with federal guard troops and helicopters protecting us from angry mobs. When he spoke out at Riverside Church against the war in Vietnam, he spoke for all Americans, not black Americans alone. He was an extraordinary leader who profoundly altered the world and my life."

Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanue-El is located at 2 Ogden Rd. in Scarsdale.

Photo caption: Alan Wachtel. Photo credit: Submitted.