New London — Rev. Joyce Pollard, pastor at In His Presence Ministries, said Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed more than 50 years ago and yet "what in the world happened that we are not further on with this being free?"

In a powerful address Monday to a virtual audience during a community service remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Pollard recognized the backdrop of political turmoil at the national level and a resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement inspired by the killing of George Floyd and other Black people at the hands of police.

"Take a minute to think. How far have we come and how far do we have to go?" she asked, relaying a story about a grandson questioned by police for merely standing outside with a friend in New Jersey.

She said while King might have been fighting for civil rights during his time, "he saw what was coming ... even in this time, we are still trying to be free."

Likewise acknowledging the racism on display during the recent riot at the nation's Capitol, Rev. Florence Clarke, retired pastor at Walls Clarke Temple, had a personal message for the "insurrectionists who paraded in the holy halls of Congress on Jan. 6, particularly the one with the Confederate flag and to the one who carried the flag, Don't Tread on Me, and all other like-minded thinkers. I say today boldly that the South will not rise again," Clarke said.

"The flames are hot today and we feel the warmth, but what about tomorrow? Are you going to go back and do the same things until next year? I propose we do something different. I propose we spend the next 364 days honoring Dr. King's legacy with deed and rhetoric," Clarke said.

Resolve in the face of adversity was a common theme at Monday's service, which was sponsored by the Southeastern Connecticut Ministerial Alliance and hosted by Shiloh Baptist Church. Shiloh Pastor Rev. Benjamin K. Watts said Shiloh had started the annual march through downtown New London in 1986. The march was canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Community Leaders speaking at Monday's event included Dr. James Mitchell, president of the board of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Trust Fund, New London Mayor Michael Passero and former Jewish Federation president Jerry Fischer.

Mitchell said King's belief in peaceful protests and message of equal justice for all has resonated locally as evidenced by the Black Lives Matter movement in New London that was led by community youth, some of them Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship recipients.

"The MLK Scholarship Trust Fund believes that investment in our youth today is an investment in the future of our community and nation," he said. "In the words of Dr. King, 'let's keep moving forward.'"

Passero said the journey toward racial and social justice in our society and in New London, severely tested over the past four years, required "continued perseverance and faith that we will ultimately succeed."

"His message to us was that despite the enormous challenges, sacrifice and setbacks we must endure along the way, the reward at the end of the journey will be justice," Passero said.

Fischer was among others to express his frustration of the racist incidents of the past several years but ended on a hopeful note.

"We do have joyful days ahead of us but only if we hold onto and strive to fulfill the dreams of Martin Luther King Jr.," Fisher said.

Quoting from King, Fischer said, "We cannot walk alone and as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood."

g.smith@theday.com