The NAACP and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade and Celebration Committee will host celebrations for Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, continuing a Meridian tradition decades in the making. 

“It really brings the community together,” said Greg Lane, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade and Celebration Committee president. “It highlights Martin Luther King’s dream for each community.” 

The NAACP prayer breakfast will open the celebrations at 8 a.m. at the Frank Cochran Center in Highland Park. 

“It brings together the clergy of Meridian to pray for different aspects of the community,” said Rev. Eugene Boger, the secretary of the NAACP Meridian-Lauderdale branch. “It’s continuing the dream and bringing people together.”

The 32-year-old annual breakfast will feature Tommy Winston, the Physical Therapist Assistant Program coordinator and an instructor at Meridian Community College.

The theme, “It’s always the right time to do the right thing,” will continue propelling King’s legacy forward with a free breakfast of eggs, sausage and bacon.

“We’re just hoping each year that the prayer breakfast looks like an embodiment of Dr. King’s dream,” Boger said.

“Reaffirming the dream by making non-violence and social justice a reality,” is the theme for the parade this year.

“This year’s theme is also about unifying,” said Pamela Graham, the parade coordinator of the committee. “We really need to get away from this division… we don’t see color because Dr. King didn’t see color.”

Graham will be celebrating her 10th year as the parade coordinator.

“I’m kind of celebrating an anniversary, too,” Graham said. “So I’m excited.”

In previous years, the parade has included floats from civic organizations, churches, businesses, car clubs and more.

“Anyone can participate,” Lane said.

This year, high school bands from Heidelberg, Laurel, Livingston and Meridian are scheduled to mach and perform during the parade.  

“We wanted to give our young people the opportunity to participate and see how it’s done,” Lane said.

The parade starts at noon at the Meridian Public School District’s Central Office, at 1019 25th Ave. Floats will line up at 10 a.m. The parade will end at city hall with a speaker.

Lane said the speaker will be a surprise. 

“We try to leave the speaker somewhat a mystery,” Lane said.

“We are very excited about having her. She’s great for our theme,” Graham said.

Lane said the parade has grown over time; in previous years, as many as 7,000 people have come to Meridian to see it. 

“It has really grown,” Lane said. “It has grown because people have grown to come to expect what we do, to respect what we do.”

The dedication of proud volunteers means that the parade has never been postponed, Lane said.

“That says a lot because of the different types of weather,” Lane said. “The people who volunteer feel a sense of pride seeing the thousands of people who come out in the cold.”

Lane said members of the committee are accepting parade applications and the $35 entry fee until Friday, adding that those wanting to join the parade could call him at (601) 934-5528. 

The committee will also host its annual MLK Scholarship Gala at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21 at the MSU-Riley Center. Tickets to the committee’s biggest fundraiser cost $35 and the band Just a Few Cats, of Birmingham, Ala., will play.

Sponsors can purchase tables for up to eight attendees. Bronze sponsor tables cost $500 and come with eight drink tickets, while Silver costs $1,000. Gold sponsor tables cost $1,500 and come with 16 drink tickets. Tables will be limited.

“People come out to have a good time at the gala,” Lane said. 

Proceeds from the gala benefit a high school senior going to college. The organization may, at other times, also donate to other worthy community causes. 

Lane has been part of the organization from its inception, when a group of young adults gathered for a meeting around his dining room table.

“A young lady (there) said, ‘Nobody was doing anything to recognize King’s dream and legacy in the Lauderdale area,'” Lane said. “So we formed a committee… We thought it was best for our community to celebrate and highlight the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.”