|
By Anya Martin
Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery
 A
close friend to Martin Luther King Jr., The Rev. Dr. Joseph
Lowery, former president of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC), made his own strong mark on the Civil Rights
Movement, leading the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott after Rosa
Parks’ arrest, as well as the famous Selma to Montgomery
March in Alabama in 1965.
In 1957, he and King helped found the SCLC,
which became a key institution of the Civil Rights Movement.
Lowery served as its president for 20 years, from 1977-1997.
During the time surrounding the Martin Luther
King Jr. Holiday, Lowery accepts as many speaking engagements
as possible, so he can share his “feelings about the
meaning of the holiday, our response and remaining problems,” he
says, adding that “I have always seen the holiday as
the nation’s official commitment to racial justice and
human dignity.”
At this time of year, Lowery suggests that
families read King’s books together, and attend one of
the several services commemorating his life and legacy. Parents
can also use the time to teach children about the organizations,
such as the SCLC and The National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People (NAACP), which played key roles in the Civil
Rights Movement. But don’t stop with the past -- also
discuss notions of race, peace and nonviolence, and the disparities
and inequities that still exist.
back to top
State Rep. Alisha Thomas-Morgan
 This
time of year is a great time to reflect and remind one’s
self of all the sacrifices that have been made by those like
King to achieve civil rights, as well as to renew one’s
own commitment to justice, equality and social service, says
Alisha Thomas-Morgan, Georgia State Rep. and the first African-American
to hold the District 39 seat.
Thomas-Morgan champions voting-rights issues
for minorities and the elderly, and recently was featured in
an “Essence” magazine article on the “New
Power Generation.” “Everything I do is to work
towards justice and equality for all people, but even if you
work to do that every day you can get tired and discouraged,” Thomas-Morgan
says.
“I like it when this time of year comes
because it’s a good reminder of the things people have
gone through. It reminds you if they can go through all of
that and still triumph, then so can we. You can pick up another
day and keep fighting.”
In addition to talking about King¹s
life and deeds with her 11-year- old stepson on the King holiday,
Thomas-Morgan always attends the Cobb County NAACP’s
21st annual MLK Celebration. This year’s celebration
will be oriented toward youth, and a highlight will be an excerpt
from “The Boy Who Would Be King,” a play about
King as a 12-year-old boy that also will be performed in its
entirety at Marietta’s Theatre on the Square Jan. 23.
back to top
Chef Marvin Woods
 |
Mark
Hill © 2006 Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
A Time Warner Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
Chef Marvin Woods of Turner South’s “Home
Plate” and Spice Restaurant, was in the back seat of
his grandmother’s car when the news came over the radio
that King had been assassinated. While at age four Woods says
he didn’t understand the full implication of what had
happened, he knew it was significant because his grandmother
pulled the car over and started to cry uncontrollably.
Today, Woods is certain he would not have
a television show, be the author of the top-selling “Near
Low Country Cooking” or an executive chef if it had not
been for the sacrifices made by King and other civil rights
leaders.
“They paved the way for so many of
us, and I think many of us don’t give it that much thought,” he
adds. “I don¹t really do anything special on [King’s
birthday], because I celebrate every day. I celebrate the life
God has given me. I celebrate my freedom. I celebrate the person
that I am.”
Woods says he believes it¹s crucial
to “know the past in order to be successful in the future.” His
13-year-old son, Christopher, is very aware of King’s
legacy, and he plans to ensure that his two-year-old daughter,
Madison, is, too. “It’s a great time of year for
some smart conversation, but hopefully it doesn¹t just
stop there and it’s something that goes on throughout
the year,” Woods says.
back to top
CEO John Grant
 King’s
impact on Atlanta can be felt every day in this city’s
passion to help others, says John Grant, CEO of 100 Black Men
of Atlanta, who has lived here since 1985. “Whether a
major corporation or an individual, Atlanta provides a feeling,
a forum and a place that creates an expectation of community
service, of being engaged in whatever one chooses to be engaged
in, whether it’s helping senior citizens, kids in need
or your neighbor down the street.”
Grant credits King as forging that path for
Atlanta, as well as making possible key city accomplishments
such as the election of Maynard Jackson, Atlanta’s first
black mayor whose vision led to the expansion of Atlanta¹s
airport into an international hub, and the sense of cooperation
needed to score the Centennial Olympic Games.
“Every Day is an Opening Day to the
hearts and minds of people, not just to buildings and attractions,” Grant
says. “There’s nothing greater than someone giving
his life to the cause of helping others and humanity, and [King]
was a citizen in this community. That is a powerful statement
anywhere you go around the world.”
However, to truly honor King’s message,
just pick a cause and volunteer to help, Grant says. And don’t
stop once the holiday is over. Extend your commitment to community
service to 365 days a year.
back to top
Congressman John Lewis
 Congressman
John Lewis marched alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Civil Rights
Movement.
“MLK Day is not just a time to celebrate
and commemorate, but a day of reverence and work. Martin Luther
King Jr. was a preacher, a prophet and a man of action. “That’s
why I usually spend the King holiday speaking to groups of
people in Atlanta and throughout the country, sharing King¹s
message of love, peace and nonviolence.
On some occasions, I participate in service
activities --cleaning or painting a school, visiting a senior
citizens center or helping to build a house in the Atlanta
community. I might also engage in ceremonies of prayer and
thanksgiving on that day, to celebrate the distance we have
traveled as a nation. But after I pray, I get back to the work
of helping to build the `Beloved Community,’ an all-inclusive
nation and world community at peace with itself.”
During Black History Month, Lewis devotes
significant time meeting with groups of people in Atlanta and
around the country to talk about the contributions African-Americans
have made to the larger society.
“We talk about how a gifted people
rose from the ashes of a brutal system of slavery, rose out
of the dehumanizing system of segregation and racial discrimination,
to offer intelligent, meaningful contributions that run through
the fabric of American society,” he adds. “These
were men and women who became the conscience of this nation
in its struggle to fulfill its highest destiny, to become an
all-inclusive democracy based on simple justice that values
the dignity and the worth of all humankind.”
Lewis enjoys visiting all the Atlanta sites
associated with King’s life, from the civil rights leader’s
birthplace on Auburn Avenue to Ebenezer Baptist Church to the
five African-American institutes of higher learning that comprise
Atlanta University Center, including Morehouse University,
which King attended.
“I love walking down by Martin Luther
King Drive, near the old Paschal’s restaurant, because
that’s where leaders and participants in the Civil Rights
Movement met, that’s where we debated the great issues
of the day, that’s where we planned the great actions
of the movement, like the March on Washington and the Selma
to Montgomery march.
Lewis looks forward to viewing King’s
personal papers in “I Have A Dream: The Morehouse College
Martin Luther King Jr. Collection,” the first exhibit
to show selections from the estate collection recently acquired
by the city of Atlanta for Morehouse College at the Atlanta
History Center.
back to top
News Anchor Monica Pearson
WSB-TV/Channel 2 news anchor
 Monica
Pearson volunteers at an elementary school reading to children.
Every year during Black History Month, she
reads books about African- Americans who have made contributions
to our society, from King to Garrett Augustus Morgan, the inventor
of the stoplight.
“For me, Black History Month is not
just black history, it’s history for all of us, since
we all have benefited from what African- Americans have done,” Pearson
says. “I like to use that month to educate people on
the contributions African-Americans have made and to say what
they did was not just for themselves, but for everyone.
“It’s actually history made by
African-Americans, but which should be known by all Americans.” Usually,
as a news anchor, Pearson has had to work on the King holiday,
but this year she plans to take the day off and volunteer for
some good cause. When her daughter was young, she would take
her first to King’s crypt and then to Stone Mountain
Park to see the slave quarters at the Antebellum Plantation.
“[Black History Month] and [King's]
birthday are a time to remind them of what it used to be like,” she
adds. “Nothing is promised. In other countries and even
here, people are still fighting."
back to top
|
