Article/Column

"We all can serve"

by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings

A childhood reflection of Ms. Delores Moore illustrates how each of us has the power to touch a child and, perhaps, transform a nation.

When Ms. Moore was quite young, 50 years ago, her large family lived on Amity Street in a South Baltimore neighborhood much like my own.  There seemed to be nothing but hard times for Baltimore's large American families in those days – and in 1959, young Delores was sent to live with her aunt and uncle in Hartford, Connecticut.

At first, this intelligent, shy southern child struggled in her new Connecticut school, but Delores never gave up, and her aunt worked with her on her reading every night.

Slowly at first, she was learning.  Yet, her lonely ordeal only deepened the shyness she felt . . . .

This, as Delores Moore recalls today, was the shy and unsure child who walked into the kitchen of a Connecticut church one day in 1960.  Her aunt had sent her next door to pick up box dinners from a church fund-raiser that was being held to support those who were doing "the work" in the South.

When Delores entered that church kitchen, one of the church ladies cooking there, Ms. Jones, looked long and hard at her and told her to wait for her box dinners in the dining hall next door.

Being a well-mannered child, Delores complied.  A moment later she returned.

"Some men are having a serious conversation next door," she explained.  "I don't want to intrude."

Ms. Jones just looked at Delores and, then, ushered her back into the dining room a second time.

Delores recalls quietly taking a seat, hoping that no one would notice her.  However, after a few moments, a young man who seemed to be at the center of the conversation paused in his remarks.

He turned toward Delores and smiled, looking directly into her eyes.

"Why, hello, young lady," he asked, "and who are you?"

When Delores responded in her small, southern voice, the young man asked about her accent.  He learned that she was from Baltimore.

"Oh, then, you are very fortunate," the young man observed, still smiling.  "Baltimore is far in advance of most of the other places where we are working . . . ."

Then, the eloquent young man, standing there in his starched white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, shifted the entire focus of the conversation that he and the other men had been having.

He placed his dialogue with the young Delores in the center of the discussion, talking about all that Reverend Vernon Dobson and the others in Baltimore were doing for the cause of civil rights.  He used his conversation with Delores to engage the Connecticut group and challenge them to follow in Baltimore's steps.

Decades later, Ms. Delores Moore recalls that, when she had that childhood conversation, she did not realize that the young man who questioned her so kindly was a national leader who was becoming the foremost voice of conscience in this country. 

At that moment, back in 1960, she did not know that he already had inspired theS movement by his own work in the South and his principled "Give Us the Ballot" speech in Washington during the 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom – nor that he already had laid the spiritual and intellectual foundation for more-equal justice in America during a 1957 sermon, "Loving Your Enemies."

What the young and struggling, but intelligent, Delores Moore did realize at that time, however, was that the eloquent young man believed that she had something essential to contribute to an important discussion that the men were having.

At that moment, his faith in her became her own – and a shy, young girl's personal experience with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., filled a heart with hope, instilled confidence back into a soul, and transformed a life.

During Ms. Delores Moore's own lifetime of service, she has passed on Dr. King's childhood gift to others many, many times.

She has advanced the critical work of BUILD (Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development).  She has taken the important rationale for Baltimore's living wage law to the British House of Lords, and she has shared Dr. King's message that every person has something important to contribute with national leaders in both the Middle East and Japan.

Just as important, Delores has never lost sight of the inherent value in every child – whether they are the injured children whom she has helped to heal on a rehabilitation team at The Kennedy-Krieger Institute or those who stand – forgotten and disparaged – on the street corners of our city.

Once a shy and struggling child herself, Delores Moore has become the kind of "servant leader" for whom Dr. King reserved his highest praise.  She has earned her community's affection and respect, both for all that she has given to others and for the exemplary role model that she has become.

This is why it was so important that the bright, talented young members of the Baltimore City College Choir were able to hear Dolores Moore's inspiring message last week during the musical tribute to Dr. King that was sponsored by the Baltimore Symphony and the Maryland Commission of African American History and Culture.

Our young leaders needed to hear Ms. Moore testify about her experience with Dr. King and the value that he found in every human being – and they also gained wisdom by witnessing the respect that Delores Moore's lifetime of service has earned from her community.

As Dr. King observed in his insightful, 1968 sermon, The Drum Major Instinct:

"Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve . . . ."
"You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love . . . ."

These are powerful words to live by as we honor Dr. King and all of the other good people who exemplify his legacy.  During our nation's current time of trial and opportunity, they express a vision for humanity that should guide America's journey toward our shared destiny.

- The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.