Published: January 21, 2008 11:19 pm      

NAACP challenges community to ‘answer the call’ in 2008

As he led a movement to free blacks from the yokes of segregation and racial discrimination, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s divinely inspired words not only helped him to inspire and touch the spirits of the people, but also to quell any possible acts of violence.

And in the early hours of a day set aside to honor the slain civil rights leader, a similar spiritualism inspired local residents to continue the pursuits of equality and racial harmony.

"Father we ask that you will give us your direction and we will follow you as you direct our footsteps," said the Rev. W.C. Brown during his procedural blessing at Monday's 23rd Annual Meridian/Lauderdale County NAACP Community Prayer Breakfast.

"Answering the Call 2008," was the theme for this year's breakfast, which was held in the gymnasium of the Boys and Girls Club of East Mississippi.

"Civil and human injustices toward mankind has been ever-present since the dawn of time," said the Rev. Randle L. Jennings, NAACP education chairman and master of ceremonies. " ... These (adversaries) must be met by people willing to resist tactics and answer the call to change conditions. Are we prepared to answer the call toward alleviating human suffering? As we are here today to honor Dr. King, we pray that each of us will answer our call to stamp out injustice throughout America."

After a soul-stirring presentation of the gospel hymn "Order My Footsteps" by the 31st Baptist Church Choir, Mayor John Robert Smith was the first of several city and county officials to extend greetings to a near-capacity audience of youth and adults.

"Later today, there will be a big parade downtown with a lot of people cheering and shouting, a marching band that will rouse our spirits, then a celebration at Dumont Plaza with words of praise for Dr. King and his work and his commitment to the cause of justice and equality," Smith said.

"But a whole new fitting way to start this day is in prayer," Smith said. "Because what led Dr. King to develop his philosophy of the nobility of each human being was his abiding faith in God and his deep religious principles. Without faith, without prayer, he would have never withstood the challenges he faced everyday."

Also extending greetings were Marion Mayor Elvis Hudson, Lauderdale County District 5 Supervisor and Board of Supervisors President Ray Boswell and, in the absence of his father – State Rep. Charles Young Sr., – Charles Young Jr. Each of the speakers shared their hopes of building personal and working relationships, providing better employment opportunities, improving the community, education system and the economy. They also challenged those gathered to not only believe in the dream, but also do their part in making it a reality.

The service also included a series of prayers by local ministers: the Rev. Samuel D. Thompson, 31st Baptist Church, Prayer for World Peace; the Rev. Robert Hopson, Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church, Prayer for the Less Fortunate; the Rev. Willie R. Clark, Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, Prayer for Equality & Reconciliation; the Rev. Gerald Hudson, Ebenezer CME Church, Prayer for No More Jena's; and the Rev. F. Gregory Proctor, director of St. Paul Episcopalian Church, Prayer for National Unity.

Hudson also presented a short version of King's "I Have a Dream" speech, which drew rounds of applause and praise from the audience. Also, recently elected Lauderdale County School Superintendent Randy Hodges expressed his thoughts on the occasion.

Longtime Meridian NAACP President Obie Clark was greeted with a standing ovation for his contributions to the civil rights movement. Clark praised current president Richard Coleman with the NAACP for continuing the legacy.

"This is the hardest working NAACP president in the state of Mississippi," Clark said of Coleman, who assumed his duties in 2007.

Keynote speaker for the prayer breakfast was State Rep. James "Jim" Evans, who, in addition to serving as chairman of the Constitution Committee, also serves on several other House committees.

Evans, who is also a minister, energized the crowd with a message of hope and enlightenment.

"Ending poverty and ignorance is essential to man's progress and the time for that progress is now," he said. "Nudging and inching along will never end poverty and ignorance. We must make a quantum leap in our effort of ending poverty and ignorance and we must take that quantum leap now."

Evans also said it is time to bridge the racial gap that has been widened by history and injustice.

"The only way to remove those walls is to mend your bridges and that means forgiveness," he said. "We have to forgive each other in order to move forward."

And to "get where we're going to," Evans said we must remain focused and become part of change.

"Get up and do something – answer the call," he said.