Rev. Willie Wilson Dishes on Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Dedication Consecration

Rev. Willie Wilson

by Arli Lima, Fab! Correspondent

History will be made this weekend in Washington as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial will finally be dedicated. Still, not before clergy and religious leaders will consecrate the grounds.

Not only was Dr. King a Civil Rights activist, he was also a Baptist preacher. The day before his memorial is dedicated, it will be consecrate to bless the grounds. The consecration will be led by Rev. Dr. Willie F. Wilson and will also include Stellar Award winner, Tramaine Hawkins, Grammy Award winners Sweet Honey in the Rock, along with other Gospel artists.

DC Fab! recently spoke with the Rev. Willie Wilson, the National Director of the Consecration Service where he discussed the importance of this occasion and the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Why was it important for you to also have a march and a consecration service in addition to the memorial?

The march represents a replication of the many, many marches that Dr. King did. It represents a clear voice to the government and helps us represent the masses of people who have suffered unemployment, foreclosure, and the fact that middle class has been thrown down with the economy. So there is a great need to speak for the masses of people who have been hurt or is hurting whether they are Black, White, Hispanic, poor, disabled…whoever is suffering in this
country.

What is your hope for the outcome of this historic event?

I was the national director for the Million Man March and we brought out over six million men. Amazing things happened because of that march. Jobs were created, partnerships were formed, and children were adopted. Hopefully this will ignite a nerve to help those who are suffering during these economic times. Hopefully it will light a fire under the spiritual community who in my opinion has somewhat lost focus. Hopefully it will raise the social concerns of our time for our young people and help them to recognize the current and past struggles that this economy has endured. We will be doing what Dr. King would have done if he would have been here at this time and that is take a stand for those that can not speak for themselves. We must not forget that Dr. King was a spiritual leader and we want to attempt to regulate the spirit of Dr. King and pull together the religious community for a unified cause.

The main event this weekend will be the unveiling of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, but that is just half of what we can expect this weekend. What else can we expect on Saturday, Aug. 27?

There will be a march beginning at 10:00 a.m. It will start at the Lincoln Memorial and we will march to the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial. We will be marching for justice and marching for jobs. There will be two stages at the MLK memorial, the first stage will hold government officials, and youth. The second stage will hold spiritual leaders and rally organizers. There will be a consecration and blessing of the grounds. There will also be music from numerous groups and individuals. There will also be a Youth Rally on Friday August 26th at Union Temple Baptist Church (1225 W Street SE) from 6-8pm. We will have a youth panel discussing the importance of this consecration and the memorial of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Who has been invited to this consecration service?

Bishop A.J. Richardson representing the A.M.E. Church, Bishop Dennis Protor representing the A.M.E. Zion church, Rev. Dr. Carroll Baltimore representing the Baptist church, Rev. Walter Foxworth who has worked with Dr. King in the past, and of course Martin Luther King III, and myself along with Al Sharpton who is the director of the National Action Network.