My name is Jason my two sisters and I grew up in what was once called quince orchard Maryland when we were younger our dad worked a lot I remember waking up in the morning and he was often already gone but I was guaranteed to see my dad at church on Sunday morning delivering these poetic sermons calling on all of us to love our neighbors as we loved ourselves and be part of something bigger you see it was a lesson he'd learned decades before in 1968 the country was on fire it seemed no matter the issue the country was divided and in the midst of all that division the congregants of pleasant view our small family church in Queens orchard gathered one evening to break bread and discuss a potential merger with two local white congregations just as racial tensions shocked the nation there came the knock on the door from the pastor who had been assigned to the three churches that were trying to merge in the pastor said that listening to the radio and receive were did doctor Martin Luther King junior had been shot doctor king was shot and fatally wounded as he strolled alone onto the balcony of his hotel he died approximately 1 hour after being shot in the emergency room of Saint josephs hospital there was silence that came across the room then the pastor who happened to be white called us together in prayer and I was just a little 17 year old who wanted to see what was going on so I kept my eyes open and I watched the pastor as tears trickled down his cheeks and in that moment I realized that doctor King's death wasn't about black folk or white folk it was about relationships between human beings and how we are able to be in relationship and that we need to be able to reconcile we need to be able to move forward from the state of Illinois Barack Obama in 2004 they sat in the audience to the Democratic National Convention in Boston I thought the nation was moving forward that King's dream was coming to life as Barack Obama preached this sermon about reconciliation and being part of something bigger it is that fundamental belief I am my brothers keeper I am my sisters keeper that makes this country work it's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one American family we were right to be hopeful about America but we were wrong to assume the fight for equality and justice was somehow over just because he got elected Virginia governor declared a state of emergency in Charlottesville today as white nationalists clashed I remember talking to my then 98 year old grandmother after the Charlottesville protests turned deadly and she reminded me that those things felt divided we had come a long way and our job now is to remain vigilant we have to keep working and praying not give up because things are not going away and we have that faith that things will come our way it takes a long time sometimes but I believe that we will we will get through this we gather this day for our souls hunger for home I often say everyone should have a home but what happens when that location no longer exists my family's hometown of quince orchard doesn't appear on the map anymore and though that still hurts I realize what I value most is how it made me feel the community of family and neighbors that lifted me up when I was tired told me that I belonged the name quince orchard dates back to an 800 acre land patent originally granted to Henry claggett in the 1760s liver incorporated it was often considered part of neighboring darnestown or Gaithersburg it was really a web of small farms owned by blacks and whites it was segregated but economically dependent and to understand the story you must understand the people and the places that called this small community home I referral dream you better known as Pearl I was born June 18th 1918 in Quincy 1602 oh ruffled Rd five boys there's eight of us quince orchard I don't want to say it's unique but it was made up of whites and blacks we to some degree operate as independently of one another but there were 

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