MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Many events recognizing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday were cancelled or scaled back because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Holly Springs, Mississippi, a scheduled day-long, outdoor celebration went on as planned with face coverings encouraged. Organizers of Holly Springs’ tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on what would have been his 92nd birthday, didn’t let the COVID-19 pandemic put a damper on events.
A parade kicked off at 11 a.m. winding its way around the Marshall County Courthouse. It’s the third year Twan and Rolanda Lester have staged the MLK parade which was followed by an outdoor event with music and speakers celebrating King’s birthday and his message.
The Lester’s admit they prayed over whether to hold the celebration, in light of the pandemic.
“We were just gonna go on with the program and we’ll let the CDC guidelines tell us whether we should or shouldn’t,” Twan Lester, co-founder of “Care Now” 3rd annual MLK day of service, said.
The Lester’s were especially glad for the larger than usual turnout by the younger generation.
“You see a lot of young people here today,” Twan said. “There as a lot of young people in the parade and they just excited as well because we around educating them and educating them on our history.”
The power of youth, a point Rust College President Dr. Ivy Taylor stressed.
“Dr. King was a very young man,” Taylor said. “At the start of the Montgomery bus boycott, Dr. King was only 26 years old. Now, students aside, the rest of ya’ll think about what you were doing when you were 26.”
King’s message still very relevant to the many rust college students and faculty on hand.
“For some people it’s probably getting lost, but not for everyone. Like the people who are here today his word still takes effect in everything that everybody is doing,” Diamond Dewberry, the head volleyball coach at Rust College, said.
The Lester’s, who operate a food pantry in Holly Springs, gave away clothing items, diapers, and free food as way to continue with the “MLK Day of Service” theme. It’s also important to note that Holly Springs is the birthplace of Ida B. Wells, one of the founders of the NAACP.
