Community members honor Dr. King's fight to freedom

Jan. 15—ASHLAND — Marking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 95th birthday, dozens of community members and leaders congregated Monday for a celebration of life and a play portraying icons of the civil rights movement.

Bernice Henry, a lifelong resident of Boyd County and co-founder of C.B. Nuckolls Community Center & Black History Museum, was among the people gathered inside the Ashland Transportation Center. The 77-year-old Black woman recalled the fight for civil rights and described the play as a walk through experiences she witnessed.

"We never missed a moment. We were right in the midst of segregation," Henry said. "I went to segregated schools — my education was right in the cracks of the civil rights movement; it was so much a part of me that I was a part of it.

"King had a plan which God inspired and he followed through with that plan."

She said she "watched closely" the images on television in the 1960s, showing Dr. King in the midst of the civil rights movement.

"I watched when he was arrested. I watched during some of the marches. I watched when they would hose and beat them when walking to Selma. I was very emotional, angry and hurt, but I was encouraged that at last we were stepping up and moving forward," Henry said. "There's always hope for the future and I have never given up on that. That's the part of America that I love; there's always hope. We have some ugly times, but hate is always counteracted by love. Love is the one thing that will carry us through."

Several people throughout the skit portrayed individuals such as Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer, Medgar Evers, pioneer civil rights activist, Viola Gregg Liuzzo, a white woman who joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Sarah Collins, church bombing survivor, and Madam C.J Walker, a female slave to a business owner, and Ruby Bridges, the first African American student to integrate an elementary school in the South.

Lynn Revely was among the 130 people who attended the skit despite below-freezing temperatures, slick driving conditions and light snow falling from the sky. Revely said King paved a path forward for freedom of all colors and creeds.

"All of this represents what we have come through. We just need to continue what Dr. King has done and make his dream a reality," she said. "Even though it's cold and snowy, I got my husband to come out with me. It's important for us to continue remembering what has been done for us in the past.

"When I hear his name I think about a person who has allowed us to have the freedom that we now have today."

Matt Perkins, Ashland's mayor, opened the ceremony with a brief statement.

"As we honor Dr. King's legacy, we must also confront the reality that we have ongoing challenges," Perkins said. "Racism does persist in our nation, in our community, and we must confront it at every turn.

"Dr. King once said, 'injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' These words resonate profoundly today, urging us to be vigilant in our commitment to dismantling the barriers that perpetuate discrimination."

"The Heritage" was written and directed by Belinda Brown and produced by Robert Pleasant and Eric Brown. The "Freedom March" from the transportation building to First Presbyterian Church was canceled due to inclement weather.

(606) 326-2657 — ajohnson@dailyindependent.com