Help somebody.

It was a simple message, but one the Rev. Paul Milton urged residents to follow while speaking at the Davie NAACP annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration Monday at New Life Apostolic Church in Mocksville.

“Is your life a reflection of the (Dr. King’s) dream? That’s what our lives need to be. Don’t stop being the best that you can be,” Milton said.

The holiday, he said, is “not a day off, but a day on.” “It’s time to do something for one another – for the uplifting of the Kingdom of God.”

He talked about King’s start in the ministry in the 1950s, and it evolving into civil rights. All people, he said, regardless of the color of their skin, their economic standing or social standing, are children of God.

Nowadays, Milton said, there is too much “us vs. them,” finger pointing from every direction.

“We need to be mindful that God has made all of us. He’s able to make us new all over again. The NAACP doesn’t need new stuff. We need God to touch us. We need to work together, unite our hands and our hearts … unite our churches.

“We might even need a new Mocksville, coming down from God in heaven. God is still there. The problem is we have not allowed Him to mainfest His power within ourselves.”

Even King, when told he was going to be the next speaker at that famous rally in Washington, D.C., wasn’t sure what he was going to talk about. Mahalia Jackson, Milton said, told him to tell them “about the dream.”

King needed help.

“God calls us to help one another. Help somebody. If I could help somebody … then my living would not have been in vain.”

Young people, too, can help one another. Older people, while maybe limited with physical abilities, have wisdom and knowledge they can use to help somebody, Milton said.

The day started with a march from the court square in Downtown Mocksville to the church, just over a mile away.

Charlene Jones, New Life pastor, said: “We love the Lord and we’re glad He brought us here to celebrate a giant in our lives who brought about equality and it’s still working.”

Joe Clark, Shiloh Baptist pastor, said King’s dream should be reflected in everyone.

“What he dreamed, we ought to be living it right now, but we’ve still got much work to do. Those of you who know the way, it’s time to show someone else the way,” Clark said.

Azariah Brailsford recited an affirmation she had written, and Adonis Smoot performed a rap song he had written in honor of Dr. King. Both were received with standing ovations from the standing-room only crowd.