The observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday should not be limited to one day a year, but every day, state Appeals Court Justice Latrice Westbrooks said.

Speaking to about 100 people at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration at the Vicksburg Auditorium, Westbrook followed the program’s theme, “Remember, Celebrate, Act: a Day On, Not A Day off. Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere,” saying, “We never have a day off.

“When we think about observing Martin Luther King and doing it every day, I want us to keep in mind three things: we need to acknowledge his subject matter, we need to emulate his service and we need to respect his sacrifice.”

People, she said need to use their time wisely.

“We should tell our children our history; everyone in this room has a black history. You shouldn’t leave this world without sharing your black history with your children and your grandchildren, because that’s how it’s carried on,” she said. “Tell your children how great they are.”

People, Westbrooks said, should want to copy and surpass the way King served.

She said King defined who people should help with their service, using a passage from one of his speeches, “When you think about service, the question should be, ‘If I do not stop to help this individual or this group, or this demographic of people, what will happen to him, her or them if I don’t.’

“The service that we give benefits a third person,” she said. “The more he (King) served, the less of him there was. I don’t think there’s nothing more Christ-like or God-like than giving service to others.

“When you serve a person, the question should not be how much time am I going to lose, how much money am I going to lose, how much energy am I going to lose if I serve somebody else. The question should be what will happen to this individual, or this group, or this cause if I don’t help them.”

King’s life will never be in vain, Westbrooks said, because he took the opportunity to serve others who did not know him and who worked against him. “He loved us so much that he gave of himself to make sure that human kind would be elevated,” she said. Even when it meant being away from his family.

“He did God’s will.”