THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2024 Page 3 ~ GUEST COMMENTARY ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and His Memory Represents the Best Inside Us All By Sal Giarratani I was so glad to see the return of the City of Quincy’s Annual Martin Luther King Breakfast over at Quincy High School this past Monday morning. As an aging baby boomer who grew up in Roxbury, Mass., back in the 1950s and 1960s, I lived through the civil rights era right here in my Boston neighborhood. Mine was an integrated neighborhood where white kids and black kids grew up together, went to school together. I still remember watching news clips from Southern states where some very vile incidents took place. When I look at the City of Boston or the City of Quincy today, both cities have progressed into cities of inclusion. I remember when Dr. King led a civil rights march from Roxbury to the Boston Common. This march was about six weeks after the violence at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama when a peaceful group of marches were prevented from crossing this bridge on the way to Montgomery and the state capitol. They were attacked by law enforcement offi cers who wielded batons at them. I also remember meeting Dr. King at the corner of Harrison Avenue and Eustis Street on his way marching to downtown Boston. Our meeting was brief and I can still remember him and we smiled at each other. One brief moment in time that to this day I still remember. We are far better today than we were back in the ugliness many of us from the Sixties will never forget. We are far better today but there’s still much to be done. There is one quote from Dr. King I will never forget: “Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or an animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we infl ict on our own soul when we look the other way.” Sal Giarratani East Boston For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 781-286-8500 or Info@advocatenews.net Lawrence A. Simeone Jr. Attorney-at-Law ~ Since 1989 ~ * Corporate Litigation * Criminal/Civil * MCAD * Zoning/Land Court * Wetlands Litigation * Workmen’s Compensation * Landlord/Tenant Litigation * Real Estate Law * Construction Litigation * Tax Lein * Personal Injury * Bankruptcy * Wrongful Death * Zoning/Permitting Litigation 300 Broadway, Suite 1, Revere * 781-286-1560 lsimeonejr@simeonelaw.net SABATINO INSURANCE AGENCY 519 BROADWAY EVERETT, MA 02149 Auto * Home * Boat * Renter * Condo * Life * Multi-Policy Discounts * Commercial 10% Discounts * Registry Service Also Available Sabatino Insurance is proud to welo welcome the loyal cust mers o tino Insur nce is p yal customers of co PHONE: (617) 387-7466 FAX: (617) 381-9186 Visit us online at: WWW.SABATINO-INS.COM
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