Holding the line to build a beloved community
Buncombe County Commissioner Jennifer Horton delivers keynote address at 36th Annual Swannanoa Valley Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Gathering
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
February 7, 2026
Cold winds swirled around Mills Chapel Baptist Church in Black Mountain, Feb. 7, but in the warmth of the sanctuary, where the 36th Annual Swannanoa Valley Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Gathering assembled, the message was steady.
Remaining on a course consistent with the vision of the American Civil Rights Movement leader was directly connected to the fundraiser’s theme, “Honoring the Past by Building the Beloved Community.”
Organized by the nonprofit Swannanoa Valley Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Corporation, the event featured a keynote address from Buncombe County Commissioner and Swannanoa native Jennifer Horton. The registered nurse and founder of family care provider Living Waters Enterprises was one of several local officials, including Black Mountain Mayor Michael Sobol, Vice Mayor Archie Pertiller, Jr. and Sheriff Quentin Miller to attend the gathering, which supports the SVMLK Memorial Corp. scholarship fund for graduates of Owen and Community High Schools.
The mission of the organization, established in 1990 by the late Lib Harper and former Black Mountain mayor Carl Bartlett, is to honor the Biblical principles of the teachings of King, according to SVMLK Memorial Corp. President Sheila Showers. The nonprofit, which awards the MLK Graduating Seniors and Say Their Names Scholarships each year, provided $12,000 in assistance to 10 renewing recipients in 2026.
Showers recognized the remaining 12 members of the board for their “faithful” work, crediting the group’s effort to support the scholarship fund. The prayer gathering featured remarks from the Black Mountain mayor, representatives of the Thomas Chapel Historical Foundation, SVMLK Memorial Corp. board members and 2025 scholarship recipient Aaliyah Hausley. A community choir, with members representing seven area churches, performed throughout the service.
Horton, who in 2024 became the first African American woman elected to the county commission and later recognized by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County with the Rosa Parks Award, reflected on her childhood in the Lytle Cove community of Swannanoa.
“I grew up in this valley,” she said. “I remember sitting on my grandmother’s front porch. She would sing and we would laugh. God, I miss that woman.”
Those memories, she continued, often involve the spiritual and gospel hymn, “I Will Trust in the Lord,” commonly known as “I Am On the Battlefield for My Lord.”
Her speech encouraged the audience to “hold the line” in King’s quest to create an equal and just society.
“The Beloved Community was never a monument, it was a mandate,” Horton said. “It will not be built by spectators, because the Beloved Community is not built in the stands, it is built on the field, and in the game.”
Coined in the early 20th century by philosopher and theologist Josiah Royce, the phrase described the concept of people united by common standards of respect. King later expanded the term to incorporate a societal aspiration defining the goal of the Civil Rights Movement.
“It is a responsibility that is rooted in the present,” Horton said. “A community where every person is seen, where dignity is not rationed, where love is not transitive and where justice is not delayed. The Beloved Community was never meant to be symbolic language, it was a demanding standard.”
King was well aware that resistance is uncomfortable, the speaker added.
“There is still work to do because the Dream is not finished…” Horton said. “Dr. King understood something profound,. Progress does not come from comfort, it comes from courage. And, courage does not always look like charging forward, sometimes courage looks like holding the line.”
Showers expressed gratitude for an inspiring message from the commissioner.
“We need to look within ourselves and see what position we will take,” the SVMLK Memorial Corp. president said. “If you find a position, and let God lead you into that position and give you the strength to carry on.”
The gathering closed with the singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” written as a poem in 1900 by James Weldon Johnson and later designated by the NAACAP as the Negro National Anthem, followed by “We Shall Overcome.”
Photos of the 36th Annual Swannanoa Valley Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Gathering can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.