NORTH ADAMS — State Rep. Byron Rushing, D-Boston, keynote speaker at Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day service, challenged listeners at the First Baptist Church to “become dangerous Negroes,†using the phrase Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover once used to describe the martyred civil rights leader.
And, speculating on what King’s concerns might be today, Rushing urged his listeners to oppose the war in Iraq.
“If you’re serious about having Dr. King’s legacy affect and influence your life, you cannot leave this place without pledging to be against the war in Iraq,†Rushing said, eliciting a round of applause from the crowd of about 125.
Noting that the year before he was assassinated, King spoke at the Riverside Church in New York City saying the Vietnam War had to end, Rushing said, “There is no doubt in my mind†that King would likewise oppose the war in Iraq.â€
Specifically, he urged listeners to “stand up for non-violence,†despite the American majority viewpoint that war protesters are crazy and idealistic.
“It will be dangerous to insist on it,†Rushing said. “We will be dangerous people.â€
Rushing spoke at the 11th annual Martin Luther King Day celebration, an event organized by the Martin Luther King Planning Committee and supported by the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition with a donation from the city’s Human Services Commission.
The event included the presentation of the Martin Luther King Peacemaker Award to Joan Lord of Adams for her 15 years of running AMEN, A Meeting of Ecumenical Neighbors — a food pantry for the working poor that she organized. (See related story).
After asking for a show of hands from those who were, and those who weren’t, born when King was assassinated April 4, 1968, Rushing said, “To keep this holiday real, you should be talking to the rest about what Martin Luther King meant.â€
He noted that while the “I Have A Dream†speech at the 1963 March on Washington was “a high point in his career, it was not THE high point.â€
That speech was quite remarkable, he said, because it quoted from the Declaration of Independence to extend its meaning to all.
“What is radical in our history is not the idea of freedom, the idea of rights and voting, the idea of democracy,†Rushing said. “What is radical is that these should be available to everybody …what’s radical about the American experiment is its availability to all.â€
The men who wrote the Declaration “redefined who was a man,†he said.
This nation’s first presidential election was not democratic because “most adults could not vote,†and the only ones who could vote were “white men with property,†he added.
The 2000 election of George W. Bush was, he said, “not the first election where people got elected without the popular vote.â€
He said the Declaration of Independence was important because once the ideas were expressed, “they were said they no longer belonged to the writers; they belonged to the hearers.â€
Subsequently, the franchise was extended to white men without property and to black men — although that took “80 years and a Civil War.â€
He added that black women — and all American women — had to overcome additional struggles.
“Those black men didn’t insist that black women be allowed to vote. It took women until the beginning of the 20th century,†he said.
He said King left a legacy of advocacy work that continues to challenge activists to reform the world.
“What Martin Luther King stood for, and died for, is for us to continue to define ‘all.’ And it is dangerous … Martin Luther King is calling us to live a life of danger. He is saying we should save the world. Martin Luther King is calling us to change the world. And it’s not easy.â€
Rushing urged listeners to recognize King’s struggles.
In a 1967 Christmas Eve sermon at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, King told his congregation that he began seeing his dream turn into a nightmare after the murder of four Sunday School girls whose Birmingham, Ala., church was bombed in September 1963, after oppressed ghettos exploded into rioting and when the war in Vietnam escalated.
But, Rushing said, despite deferred dreams and blasted hopes, King taught us that we can’t give up in life.
“It will not be easy for us if we’re intent on celebrating Martin Luther King’s life,†he said.
Again theorizing on what King’s stance on contemporary issues might be, Rushing noted that he would probably be conflicted on gay rights, certainly on the issue of gay marriage. And, he pointed out, “not one woman was allowed to speak†at the 1963 march. But Rushing also noted that King had chosen Bayard Rustin, “not a closeted homosexual,†to organize the march — despite the opposition of some of his advisors — because Rustin had helped King with strategy in the Montgomery bus boycott.
“Martin Luther King always said civil rights are not just for black people,†Rushing said. “I suspect he would’ve gotten his strategy regarding women and gays and lesbians.â€
Citing Hoover’s description of King as “the most dangerous Negro in America,†Rushing said, “I think J. Edgar Hoover almost got it right: Martin Luther King is challenging you all to become dangerous Negroes. And we have to ask, ‘How can I be a dangerous Negro?â€
His statement was met with a standing ovation.
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Pittsfield Council Passes $232.7M Budget
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council unanimously approved a $232.7 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
It is a modest, almost 2.9 percent increase from FY26.
"I do want to give the community kind of a heads up as we move forward on budgets. What we see coming out of the federal government that's trickling down to the states, it's going to be harder and harder for us as a community to meet our needs under the Proposition 2 1/2," Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said.
"We're going to have challenges, as we've seen communities across the state trying to override the Proposition 2 1/2, because we have dwindling amounts of money coming from the state and federal government."
She pointed out that, at the same time, utility bills are going up for both residents and the city, as are the costs of pavement and other items.
The amended budget of $232,777,720, down from the $232,782,090 originally proposed, includes cuts to the Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the restoration of funds for councilors to attend the annual Massachusetts Municipal Association conference.
The Pittsfield Public Schools' $86,855,061 budget includes $68,886,061 in state Chapter 70 funding and $18 million from the city. With $345,000 in school choice and Richmond tuition revenues, it totals $87,200,061 and is an approximately $300,000 increase from the Pittsfield Public Schools' FY26 budget of $86.9 million.
The district's budget will fund 13 schools, as Morningside Community School will retire in the fall, and includes the middle school restructuring.
Councilors also approved the use of $2 million in certified free cash to reduce the tax rate, and appropriated $450,551 for parking-related expenditures.
Cassidy Flynn scattered five hits in a complete-game effort in the circle as Lenox upset top-seeded Hoosac Valley, 3-2, in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament. click for more
Brayden Durant struck out seven and walked one in a complete-game effort on the mound Saturday to pitch the Drury baseball team to a 6-0 win over Keefe Tech in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament at Joe Wolfe Field. click for more
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
Gracelyn Wright struck out eight, and Genevieve Lagess went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Hurricanes beat Monson, 17-3, to claim their first Western Mass title in four years. click for more
For the boys, Ward Bianchi helped lead the way with a win in the shot put and a second place in the javelin as the Mounties finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Pittsfield (pending the results of the pole vault, which were unavailable at 11 p.m. Friday night). click for more
