As he honored The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at a community breakfast Monday, James Young reflected on his own path to Philadelphia city hall. 

Forty five years after the murders of three civil rights workers in Neshoba County, Young was elected the city’s first black mayor in 2009. 

“Change has come and I am part of the change,” Young said. “People’s hearts have to change before positive things can be accomplished.” 

The theme of the 35th annual breakfast, hosted by the Meridian/Lauderdale County branch of the NAACP in the Tommy E. Dulaney Center at Meridian Community College, was “When we come together in love, we win.”

“We’re here today to honor a great man who spent his time on earth showing love, showing kindness and in many times, criticized for everything that he did,” Young said. “He didn’t give his life. They took his life. The three men that died in Philadelphia in Neshoba County, they didn’t give their lives, it was taken by the power of hate.”

Young called upon the audience to build relationships and take an active role in changing the community, even if it’s uncomfortable. 

“We have the right to come in this building today because our mothers and fathers, some was beaten, some was killed, some was mistreated so violently, but they said, ‘We will not fail,’” said Young, his voice filled with emotion. 

Ethel Radcliff of Meridian, who attended the breakfast, said she always makes an effort to join in the celebration for Dr. King.

“Being of a certain age, many of these events, I witnessed myself,” she said. “I don’t think Dr. King would be actually pleased. We haven’t come, I think, as far as he wanted us to come, but we’re still striving.”

Dr. King set an example of what nonviolence can do, said Mable Oatis, a retired educator from Meridian who attended the breakfast. 

“What people thought was when we had the civil rights movement and all, that we had arrived and that everything was going to be peaches and cream, but they are discovering that you can’t stop,” Oatis said. “You’ve got to keep working, because it’s an ongoing journey.” 

The breakfast included the singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and performances by N’Spired Afrocise dancers, Friendship M.B. Church Praise dancers and Kaitlyn Latimer of the Suzie McCraw School of Dance. 

Later in the day, hundreds of people lined the streets of downtown Meridian for the MLK Day Annual Parade Celebration. 

Churches, school bands and other organizations participated in the event, which followed the theme of “Dream, Believe, Do.” 

“We just love this parade,” said Willie Griffin of Meridian, who has attended every year. 

“We need everybody to recognize the efforts of Dr. King on this day, his birthday. I just think it’s such a spectacular thing when we get people of Meridian to come out and support everything that we’ve got carrying on in the city of Meridian,” he said. “Without remembering your past, you can never see where you’re heading to the future.”

Meanwhile, across town at the Mississippi Power Service Center on Highway 45, Mississippi Power staff and their families teamed up with Leadership Lauderdale members on a Sleep In Heavenly Peace build. 

“This a huge help for us, because it’s a great partnership with a local business,” said Laura Hester, with Sleep In Heavenly Peace, the volunteer group that builds bunk beds for children in need. “It’s a way that we can both give back.”

“We’ve been doing investments in the community like this for years,” said Mississippi Power CEO and President Anthony Wilson, who was on hand for the annual community service project.

“For us, it’s a day on, instead of a day off.”

Scholarship gala 

Activities honoring Dr. King continue this week, with a scholarship gala scheduled 7-11 p.m. on Saturday at the MSU Riley Center in downtown Meridian. The semi-formal evening event will include an introduction of the scholarship recipients, music by the band Just A Few Cats of Birmingham, Alabama, heavy hors d’oeuvres and door prizes. 

Tickets are $40 per person; reserved tables are limited. Tickets may be purchased from committee members or at the door. For more information, contact Pamela Graham at 601-479-2018.

Bill Graham contributed reporting.