Hickory's Area Ministers Spirit of King Award Presented to Captain Sipe

HICKORY – The Hickory Area Ministers and the Greater Hickory Ministerial Alliance hosted the annual Spirit of King Community Celebration to honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday at Morning Star Baptist Church.

This year’s recipient of the Spirit of King Award was presented to Hickory Police Department’s Captain Vidal Sipe who was honored to be recognized and receive the award.

"Just the change that Dr. Martin Luther King tried to make as he was coming up in his era, just trying to have some sort of legacy to move to equality for all," Sipe said. "I'm trying to be the change to make it easier for the next person who comes along."

The annual award is given to an individual from the Hickory area that embodies the spirit of King's legacy of inclusion of people of all races and cultures, making the community a better place to live for all people.

Rev. Clifford A. Jones, senior pastor of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Charlotte served as keynote speaker for the occasion. His message referenced a letter written by King when he was in an Alabama jail after a Civil Rights march that highlighted who King thought were the real heroes of the movement and its purpose.

"How can we read the Bible, that God so loved the world that he gave his only son, but yet you're robbing and taking things daily for persons to have human dignity and life," Jones said. "I'm not talking about Russia. I'm not talking about Iceland or Rwanda. I'm talking about Hickory.

"Dr. King wrote that letter and he said he hoped his White brothers, Christians, would hear him out and seek to make and do the necessary things that are essential for us to overcome some day."

A mass choir made up of local choirs led by Minister of Music Zachary Martin of Exodus Missionary Outreach Church performed as well.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was at the heart of the leadership of the modern American Civil Rights movement, from December 1955 until April 4, 1968.

Drawing inspiration from both his Christian faith and the peaceful teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, King led a nonviolent movement in the late 1950’s and ‘60s to achieve legal equality for African-Americans in the United States, according to thekingcenter.org.

This article crafted from information provided by the Hickory Police Department.