Dozens of people took part in the celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the New Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church in Maple Heights.
The people of Maple Heights voted Annette McMillian Blackwell into office in November, making her the first woman and first black mayor of the city. She was the keynote speaker at the service.
She explained to the crowd that she was born in an Alabama town just 15 miles from Selma, Alabama in the 1960s. Her father, a minister, moved her family to Cleveland in 1964 when she was just a toddler. Every summer Blackwell and her family would go back to Alabama, she would help her grandmother work on the farm.
She explained that the images of the civil rights movement are ingrained in her memory and helped shape her into the person she is now. "I became very strong," said Blackwell.
Blackwell explained that she never met Martin Luther King Junior but he influenced her life. "He was hope for the people I grew up with," added Blackwell.
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