Stillwater NewsPress

Living

Related Photos

  • The 2010 Commemorative Freedom March makes its way to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in Stillwater. File photo

    MLK Celebration_04.jpg
January 17, 2011

Celebration organizer says Martin Luther King Jr. would still focus on equality, education

Stillwater will remember King with a march and program on Monday evening

By Laura Wilson family@stwnewspress.com

STILLWATER, Okla. — If Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, he’d still be focused on equality and on education also, Stillwater resident James Washington said.

Washington, a member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, is one of the people organizing Stillwater’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a walk from Stillwater Public Library to Mt. Zion Baptist Church, where the program will follow.

Washington said he thinks King would talk a lot about taking advantage of opportunities available if he were still alive.

“We’ve come a long way, but now it looks like we’re struggling, backsliding,” he said. “He opened doors for minorities, but it’s a matter of taking advantage of them. Now people are so relaxed, they take them for granted, let them fall by the wayside.”

Washington, who is 57 years old, said he remembers not being able to go certain places when he was a child. At some restaurants, he said, they ordered food through the back door or a window, some water fountains were off limits, and at the movie theater, they sat in the balcony.

“I remember in the late ’50s and early ’60s when we ourselves were turned away from swimming pools,” he said.

Monday night’s celebration is a time to remember those times and the sacrifices King made to make changes, Washington said.

“He was a well-educated man, non-violent, and stood on God’s word,” Washington said.

People will gather at the library at 6:15 p.m. Monday for the Commemorative Freedom March to Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Stillwater Mayor Nathan Bates will lead the march and welcome those attending.

Dr. Zola Drain, acting chairman of the biology department at Langston University, will deliver the keynote speech, and Mt. Zion Gospel Choir and other community choirs will provide music during the event at the church. Jason Kirksey, vice president of institutional diversity at Oklahoma State University, will also speak, Washington said.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Living
Buy & Share Photos
NewsPress e-Edition
NewsPress Specials
AP Video
Texas Students Coach Teachers on Fitness New Forecasting Tool Eyed for Hurricane Season Meet MJ, the Bike Riding Tabby Cat Britain Attack Believed Linked to Radical Islam Raw: Kevin Durant Tours Moore After $1M Pledge Weiner Launches Bid to Become NYC Mayor Okla. Teens Get Video of Deadly Tornado Overhead Man Shot While Questioned in Boston Probe School Storm Protection Spotty in Tornado Zones 9-year-old Tornado Victim Loved Family, Singing Moore Native Toby Keith Tours Tornado Damage Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage Okla. City Mayor: Up to 13K Homes Hit by Tornado Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London Paperless Scanner, Vision of the Future Florida FBI Shooting Has Boston Bombing Links Garcetti Elected Los Angeles Mayor Over Greuel Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case
Stocks
NDN Video
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage Trout's cycle a boost for Angels Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery Shakira's Shocking Talent Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill DWTS Crowns a Winner Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal The Hangover Baby All Grown Up