Many gathered in fellowship for the 32nd annual NAACP Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast, remembering the legacy of the Civil Rights leader by gathering together as a community.

Newcomers and old-timers alike attended the 8 a.m. breakfast at the Frank Cochran Center in Highland Park, coming together in remembrance of King.

“I just like to fellowship and support the Martin Luther King legacy,” Gladys Rush said. “I come every year and I really enjoy the breakfast, parade and gala.”

The program for the breakfast featured songs such as ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing,’ led by Lauderdale County Judge Veldore Young, and prayers from the local clergy. 

“I came to help celebrate Dr. King and support my son,” Labrandy Moore said.

Moore attended the breakfast for the first time with her son, who performed “We Shall Overcome” with the Magnolia Middle School band at the breakfast.

“But I also came to fellowship,” Moore said. 

Rev. Randy Jones, the new NAACP Meridian-Lauderdale chapter president, cited the opportunity of fellowship as one of the benefits of the breakfast.

“I hope that with all of the leaders here we can connect and come up with solutions and ways to clean up our community,” said Jones, the pastor St. Peter’s United Methodist Church and Wesley United Methodist Church.

“We come not just to eat but also to fellowship and find solutions that will transform Meridian.”