The march began on Dr. D.L. Conner Drive, just north of Highway 182. There were preachers and politicians, elementary school students and sorority sisters.
Some who marched were retired, while others took to the streets on their day off or on break. Yet, they all had one thing in common – a desire to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the late civil rights leader”s goal of racial equality.
More than 150 people participated in Starkville”s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day march and rally Monday. The procession crossed Highway 182 and headed south on Dr. D.L. Conner Drive to Main Street. The group, all the while singing “We Shall Overcome,” then turned down West Main Street and gathered in front of the Oktibbeha County Courthouse annex.
“Many of us who grew up in the 1960s realize things were quite different back in those days compared to how life is now,” said Rev. Tyrone Stallings, president of the Oktibbeha County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. “That is a great accomplishment. It came by many sacrifices. It came by much blood being shed. The man we honor today is one of the great leaders that God used as an instrument to bring about civil rights for all mankind.”
Oktibbeha County District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer was the keynote speaker at the event and, in an emotional speech, urged those in attendance to take responsibility for their actions and remain active in the lives of their children.
“If you want things to get better, it begins with you,” Trainer said.
Annie Dancer, who has attended marches, rallies and protests all over the country for more years than she can remember, attended the event Monday with friend Donna Stark.
“I think that Dr. King was a great theologian because it”s applied theology,” Stark said. “It”s love with feet on it and hands on it because you get out and do something. You don”t just discuss it. He took a stand and it cost him, which is also theological.”
Oktibbeha NAACP member Dorothy Bishop also was in attendance and said she hopes people actively take steps to improve their lives and the lives of others, and join together, regardless of race. Bishop has helped Oktibbeha County residents register to vote since the 1960s, when she and her mother drove around the county and gave people rides to register when they were needed.
“(King) wanted us to work, not just come here and speak,” Bishop said. “We have to get out and do something, not just stand around talking about it.”
Jada Selma, president of Mississippi State University”s Lambda Eta chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, was at the rally with nearly 20 of her sorority sisters.
“We come out here for the walk every year,” Selma said. “We think it”s important to show our face in the community, to show unity in the community and to come out here and celebrate Martin Luther King Day.”
Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman was one of the speakers at the event and commended King and the sacrifices he made with his fellow civil rights activists. Wiseman likened the hill on Dr. D.L. Conner Drive, which those participating in the march had to climb, to the journey to King”s mission.
“I think our route is an appropriate route because in the middle of that route you hit a pretty big hill,” Wiseman said. “I think it”s important to be reminded that the journey is not always easy and there”s work yet ahead of us, but Dr. King”s legacy also shows us what is possible. Seeing what he was able to accomplish gives us a renewed sense of hope for the journey that remains for us. We know the dream he gave is attainable as long as we”re willing to work.”
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