MLK vision celebrated

Civil rights leader remembered in local events

Jeremy Marshall waves to participants along Main Street in Arkadelphia during the 2010 MLK “Marade.”
Jeremy Marshall waves to participants along Main Street in Arkadelphia during the 2010 MLK “Marade.”

— The life, work and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be celebrated in a series of events Monday and this weekend in Tri-Lakes communities. The largest of those celebrations are in Benton, Malvern and Arkadelphia.

Kasey Summerville, Clark County assessor and a member of the MLK Day Committee in Arkadelphia, said the main purpose of the many events is to pass on the legacy of Dr. King to the next generation.

“We want to teach young people about Dr. King and what he stood for in his life,” she said. “His message of peace, nonviolence as a way of life, service and equality for all is still just as important today.”

The region’s first 2011 MLK event was in Malvern with the 15th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Association Prayer Breakfast on the morning of Jan 8. The events heralded the start of a celebration of King throughout the city, according to the Rev. J.N. McCollum, president of the Malvern MLK Association.

Thursday night, First Baptist Church on Vine Street was the location of a citywide prayer service. The Rev. Henry Mitchell chaired the organizing committee for the event.

Roast beef, smoked chicken and a speech from Lisa McCollum-Smith will be the

featured offerings during the MLK Banquet at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Malvern Community Center. The event drew a crowd of almost 150 last year.

The MLK Gospel Fest will take place at 3 p.m. today at the Mount Zion Baptist Church. Last year, more than 300 people were in the audience for that event.

Monday, on the MLK holiday, an event called the Great Gathering will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Malvern. The Rev. Rick McClure is slated to speak at the gathering.

The annual MLK Day Parade will begin at 3 p.m. Monday on Main Street. The parade’s organizers said Thursday that they were still seeking entries, and that while they were hoping for more floats, all entries are invited to take part. For more information about participating, call Alvin Murdock at (501) 467-4828.

The nine-day celebration will conclude Monday evening with the MLK Memorial Service at the First Baptist Church on East Moline Street.

Events for the 2011 MLK celebration began in Arkadelphia on Saturday morning with a planned community service day. Young people from local churches and from Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University were scheduled for cleanup projects along Pine Street.

“This is the first time we have done this in three or four years,” Summerville said. “We wanted to remember that service to others is part of Dr. King’s legacy.”

Earlier in the week, Summerville said she hoped the snow would be gone before the event.

Pine Street has been a point of controversy since June, when the Arkadelphia Board of Directors voted to rename the street in honor of King, then halted the name change after complaints from Pine Street businesses.

“I don’t think that will come up during our celebration,” Summerville said. “Our purpose is to remember Dr. King and his legacy and, locally, to honor Dr. Terry.”

The late A.W. Terry was the founder of the Mount Olive Baptist Church in Arkadelphia and was active in the civil rights movement.

According to his son, Llewellyn Terry, who is now the pastor of the church, the elder Terry took part in the march from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery with Dr. King.

At 6 p.m. Saturday, the Arkadelphia MLK Day committee held a gospel music concert at the St. Paul A.M.E. Church on Caddo Street. The singing featured Lemme Battles of the Chicago Mass Choir.

The city’s MLK Day activities will begin with a free breakfast at 7 Monday morning at the Community Family Enrichment Center on North 23rd Street.

Sam Weaver from Henderson State will be the speaker at the opening ceremonies at 9 a.m., followed by workshops for community members of all ages, Summerville said.

Floats, bicycles, horses, four-wheelers and classic cars will join with hundreds of marchers for the annual “Marade” at 2 p.m. It will begin at the Mount Olive Church on 16th Street and head to downtown Arkadelphia, ending on Crittenden Street at the Day National Guard Armory.

“It is a march and a parade,” Summerville said.

The march was first organized in 1966 by A.W. Terry.

After the Marade, a program will be held at the armory. The guest speaker will be Dr. Wilbert Gaines, who is retired from Arkansas State University. The holiday events will end with a celebration at the Greater Pleasant Hill Baptist Church at Caddo and 16th streets.

In Benton, the MLK events for 2011 will carry the theme of “One Community — One Dream,” said Robin Freeman, who is coordinating much of the celebration.

“The message is that we all want the same thing,” she said. “People’s politics may be different, but we all have the same goals for our community.”

On Friday morning, a prayer breakfast was held at the Benton First Baptist Church on Market Street.

DuShun Scarbrough, executive director of the Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, will speak on her reflection on the life of the civil rights leader. Annette Barnes of the Arkansas Department of Education will also address the gathering.

The Benton CommUnity Celebration was held Saturday night at the First United Methodist Church on Market Street. The dinner meeting featured Ulysses Washington, pastor of the Mission United Methodist Church in Fort Smith and a community organizer. A combined community choir performed.

The annual MLK Memorial Service is scheduled for 4 p.m. today at St. Paul Baptist Church on Dixie Street. The speaker will be Dr. Sherece West, executive director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Foundation in Little Rock.

“He will talk about how the vision of Dr. King and those of the foundation tie together to move toward a better community for us all,” Freeman said.

A community service day, “A Day On, Not a Day Off,” will begin at 9 a.m. Monday at Ralph Bunche Park in Benton. Volunteers are asked to take part in cleanup activities in the Ralph Bunche community, with lunch served at Mount Zion Church on South East Street.

The Benton MLK Parade will begin at 3 p.m. Monday. Those taking part in the parade will gather at the Benton Panther Stadium at Benton High School. The route will follow Market Street to North Street and end on Main Street, Freeman said.

The Benton activities are organized by the Ralph Bunche Community Development Corp.

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