Meridianites march in annual MLK celebration
Published 12:01 pm Monday, January 20, 2025
Members of the Meridian High School drum line lead residents in a march to the Historic First Union Baptist Church Sunday as part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration organized by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance. Photos by Thomas Howard
Pastor Gary Houston, who serves as president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, welcomes residents Sunday to the alliance’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at Historic First Union Baptist Church.
Meridian residents march down Seventh Street from Prince of Peace Fellowship Christian Church to the Historic First Union Baptist Church Sunday as part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration organized by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance.
Members of the Meridian High School Choir perform at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at Historic First Union Baptist Church.
Meridian residents march down Seventh Street from Prince of Peace Fellowship Christian Church to the Historic First Union Baptist Church Sunday as part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration organized by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance.
Members of the Meridian High School drum line lead residents in a march to the Historic First Union Baptist Church Sunday as part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration organized by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance.
Dozens of Meridian and Lauderdale County residents braved frigid temperatures Sunday night to take part in the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. walk and celebration.
The annual event begins with a march from Prince of Peace Fellowship Christian Church to the Historic First Union Baptist Church on 38th Avenue.
First Union is where MLK Jr. spoke in the summer of 1964, also called Freedom Summer, which saw a massive effort to register Black citizens in the South to vote. The church is also the site where activist and Meridianite James Chaney’s funeral was held after his murder by the Ku Klux Klan that same year.
A service organized by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance is held each year at the church following the walk.
