When you’re a dancer, the music will always find you in the best possible ways, as West Side Academy’s Dance students found out Sunday evening. You’d never know the students performing for the crowd at the 56th Annual Ecumenical Service honoring Martin Luther King Jr. at New Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Gary knew the speaker playing their performance piece went out as they twirled down the aisles in near-perfect formation. As they continued without, the principles of helping each other that King espoused came together as the church band’s bass player started softly banging out an accompaniment. Almost immediately, the attendees heard it and started clapping along, giving the dancers the extra encouragement to finish their performance. The crowd gave them a rousing standing ovation when they were done. “There’s nothing like clapping for your own children,” the Rev. Dwight Gardner, pastor of Trinity Missionary Baptist, said. The mood for the service was somber yet defiant as speakers noted bills the Indiana General Assembly is leveling towards the city. Vanessa Allen-McCloud, president and CEO of the Urban League of Northwest Indiana and current Gary Community School Board member who was filling in for GCSC Superintendent Yvonne Stokes, sounded the alarm on H.B. 1136 that would dissolve GCSC. Urban League president and school board member Vanessa Allen-McCloud leads the choir during the 56th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Day Celebration at New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Gary on Jan. 19, 2025. (John Smierciak / Post-Tribune) “Yes, we know parents have a choice (where to send their children to school), but we don’t want our schools divided,” she said. “With Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives also being rolled back, those are recipes for disaster, especially in Gary. “I am asking the entire community to raise their voice against these injustices and tell them you oppose these bills. Dr. Stokes encourages us to have the tenacity of Dr. King: ‘The time is always right to do what is right.'” State Senator Mark Spencer, D-Gary, warned that it’s a “serious time” in the legislature right now. What he thought was going to be a honeymoon period in his inaugural year is decidedly not, he said. “I’ve been to two meetings on H.B. 1136, and we are working tirelessly,” Spencer said. “Dr. (State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary) and I and everyone are on the front line to make sure 1136 never leaves committee.” Parishioners sing along with the choir during the 56th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Day Celebration at New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Gary on Jan. 19, 2025. (John Smierciak / Post-Tribune) Acknowledging that the ecumenical community has celebrated King for the last 56 years, Spencer said this year’s theme, “In the Pursuit of Excellence,” challenges people to figure out how to use their gifts to secure equality for all. “Dr. King said, ‘Everyone can be great because everyone can serve,” he said. “Excellence is not found in titles or accolades, but in service — service to one another and to the ideals of justice and equality that he so fervently championed. “Today, let us recommit to the work that remains. Let us teach our children to dream boldly, uplift our families through action and hold fast to the belief that justice is not an aspiration, but a promise we must fulfill together.” Two GCSC students — Na’Shaun Robinson of Gary Middle School for the Visual and Performing Arts, and Davion Taylor of West Side Leadership Academy — won the annual MLK Jr. Essay contest. Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. A church member sings along with the choir during the 56th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Day Celebration at New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Gary on Jan. 19, 2025. (John Smierciak / Post-Tribune)