Lavon Fluker-Reed speaks at Meridian City Hall during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day program on Monday. 

Many Meridian leaders and participants at events recognizing Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy on Monday had something on their minds besides unity, peace, and progress associated with the civil rights leader – they wanted younger generations to recognize and learn from the struggles faced by earlier generations.

Martin Luther King Jr. was 39 when he was assassinated in Memphis in 1968. He would have been 89 on Monday.

Nearly a half-century since King’s death, generations have grown up never directly experiencing “whites only” lunch counters or other institutionalized racism.

As time passes between major events of the civil rights movement, people with direct experiences from that time speak of the importance of passing that legacy to the next generation. 

Grandparents and parents made efforts to bring their grandchildren and children to events on King’s birthday, a national holiday.

Norma Robertson, 66, brought her granddaughter Skyah Williams, 14, to the 33rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast at the Frank Cochran Center, organized by the Meridian/Lauderdale County chapter of the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization.

“I want her to know this is still part the celebration of Dr. King,” Robertson said. “I don’t know that she knows the whole story.”

Skyah, who attends Northwest Middle School, enjoys math, plays the clarinet, and has thoughts of becoming a teacher. After hearing speakers reflect on King’s life, she said she found the experience worthwhile.

“It’s important to remember all of the things he did for us,” she said.

One conversation

Just before the 19th annual Martin Luther King Jr. parade in downtown Meridian, an impromptu discussion helped one young woman learn about local history before segregation ended in Meridian decades ago.

Emma Barefield, 67, stood along the parade route and told Zibresha Scott, 20, about a life the college student struggled to imagine.

“When we were growing up, you couldn’t go in that theater,” Barefield said, pointing to the Temple Theater. 

Barefield talked of places downtown such as Jack’s Sandwich Shop during the 1950s and 1960s that wouldn’t let black people dine inside the restaurant.

“If your food wasn’t ready when you got there, you just stood over by the door,” she said.

“I don’t know how it would have been for me,” Scott responded.

“There’s a lot of things you take for granted,” Barefield said.

Universal themes

Speakers during the day’s programs spoke of love, unity, forgiveness, education, vision, and integrity – all universal themes that transcend a specific time and place.

But Robert Markham, a retired educator and officer with the local NAACP chapter, said young people need to learn about King and other civil rights leaders who helped usher change.

He said ignoring history can result in taking basic rights for granted.

“You can’t live in this city and not see the changes made in the last 50 years,” Markham said during the breakfast Monday morning. “They need to learn things haven’t always been this way.” 

Markham shouldn’t worry too much about at least one Meridian teenager’s interest in learning about civil rights and history.

Detrick Sims, 16, a sophomore at Meridian High School, stood along the parade route with his smartphone, making a video to document the event. Sims said he walked more than 1 1/2 miles from his house to witness the day’s events.

“It’s really important to me,” he said. “Everybody should be out here looking at this.”