Imagine if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was with us today. How great that would be.

King would be one of the leaders in discussing the events that have created high emotions in Ferguson, Missouri. He would have been in Cleveland after a senseless shooting of a youngster with a toy gun.

Dr. King was an inspiration to many. His legacy is not forgotten.

Today at the Moose Lodge in Dunkirk, the Northern Chautauqua County Juneteenth Committee will pay tribute to King’s memory during a luncheon. The Hon. E. Jeannette Ogden, New York State Supreme Court judge, will be the keynote speaker. Ogden represents the 8th judicial district in Western New York, including Chautauqua County.

Last year’s message was delivered by Dean of Admissions at Daemen College Frank Williams, who noted the United States is making progress, but still has a ways to go.

“The struggle he fought continues, it is an American issue, it is a human race issue,” he said last year. “Plant a seed, and let someone water it, watch that seed blossom and grow, and whether you are the planter of the seed or the one who waters it, you watch it blossom.”

Today’s event requires reservations and begins at 11:45 a.m.