Stephy Nobles Beans rouses MLK rally

"Keep your eyes on the prize, keep your eyes on the prize, keep your eyes on the prize, hold on. Keep your eyes on the prize, keep your eyes on the prize, keep your eyes on the prize, hold on," sang Stephy Nobles Beans, author, speaker and life coach, opening her comments at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day rally Jan. 19 in Spokane.

"So this is the moment that we stop treating Dr. King like a memory and start treating him like a mission," she said, challenging attendees that as they left, they need to "remember unity is how we stand start, vision is how we show up, and justice is how we move forward.

"If we do this today, if we truly commit ourselves, years from now people won't just say we hosted a Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. They'll say we became the kind of community that the late Spokane civil rights leaders Ivan Bush and Happy Watkins dreamed of."

Stephy asked those who came to the rally and march to carry with them the realization: "When you think of vision, be the bridge, when you see the need, be the help, and when you see the injustice, be the voice.

"Let this holiday be a spark," she invited. "Let it light something in us that does not fade when the day is over, because the dream is not finished. The work is not complete, and the call is still on us.

"If you believe we are called to unity, say, 'We are called,'" she said, holding her hand up to hear the people repeat the words.

Stephy also called for their response: "If you believe we are called to serve, say, 'We will serve.' If you believe we are called to justice then say, 'We will fight injustice.'

"Then let us leave this place with our heads high, our hearts open and our hands ready. Unity, service, justice! This is our charge. This is our commitment and this is how we honor the King, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., because he says: Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on. Keep your eyes on the prize, keep your eyes on the prize, keep your eyes on the prize, hold on," Stephy sang.