From a parade downtown to hundreds rising to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” Marion Countians celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monday.
And one voice in particular stood out as a reminder of what the late civil rights leader stood for and accomplished. Celess Barnes McEwen, 90, shared her story with the audience at St. John the Baptist Missionary Baptist Church.
“When I was young, I used to lie awake at night and wonder what I was here for,” she said. “I felt there was a reason that God had allowed me to be here. I grew up in Mendenhall, Miss., and there were no schools for somebody like me. But I had a mother and a father who wished for me to have an education. I had to leave home at 13 and go to get an education. I went to Prentiss Institute when I was 13, and I left my mother and my father.”
Though the room and board at Prentiss Institute was only $6.25, McEwen’s family struggled to pay the tuition.
“But that did not stop me,” she said. “The Lord blessed me and gave me a voice. I used my voice, and I loved to sing. You had to have hope. I want you to love your children, let them know you are loved.”
McEwen said she would continue to use her voice in service of the Lord and then recited poetry for the audience, stirring applause.
“First of all, I want to say that when I grow up, I’m going to be like Miss Celess Barnes McEwen,” featured speaker Deborah Delgado, a councilwoman from Ward 2 in Hattiesburg, said. “We need role models at every stage of life and certainly, when I heard this woman of God speak and address this congregation of people, it really touched my heart. It’s really in the spirit that we need to be when we engage with each other. There always needs to be a word of encouragement passed down. Even if these are not our biological children, these are all of our children. They are God’s children.”
The day began when a parade rolled through the streets of Columbia just after 1 p.m. that included the East Marion Marching Storm band, floats and vehicles from dozens of churches, Masonic lodges and other organizations. The parade ended at the church on Lumberton Road, where the celebration continued.
The Marion County Branch of the NAACP honored Dr. King with a special program titled “And Still We Rise.” Hundreds packed the church to hear a variety of speakers, including the Rev. R.T. McGowan, president of the local NAACP, and the Rev. Calvin Newsom, pastor of St. John the Baptist M.B. Church.
Entertainment included the St. Luke Baptist Church Praise Team, the Marion County Mass Choir, under the direction of Sebronette Barnes-Aboram and Arthur Thompson, and the West Marion High School Gospel Choir. The Mistress of Ceremony was Valeria Aikens, Topeneka Bridges introduced the speaker, Lenzie Ray Alford offered an appeal from the NAACP, the Rev. Edward Handshaw offered the invocation and Minister Stephanie Wilson of New Life Fellowship closed the program with the benediction.
Delgado spoke of honoring the memory of King.
“You have chosen as your theme, ‘And Still We Rise,’” she said. “When I consider that poem by Maya Angelou, I think of all of the circumstances she called to our attention that were essentially saying that in spite of everything that has come against us, in spite of all of the things that this society has placed upon our heads, in spite of everything that was done that was not intended for our benefit, still, we rise. It’s amazing. It’s only through the grace of God and God’s mercy to us that we’re still here. We’re celebrating a man who for us, led a movement for our benefit and who is not here because we were not loved in this country.”
Delgado urged the audience to educate their children and future generations to the history and struggles endured.
“Many times, we don’t know what is being taught in the classrooms,” she said. “We don’t know what books are being used or the educational background of the teachers that are imparting knowledge to our children. We have to make sure that we take responsibility for the education of our own children.”
In her more than 30 minute speech, Delgado offered encouragement and urged education.
“Just because you may have made mistakes in life, doesn’t mean that you cannot rise,” she said. “You can rise above your circumstances. You can rise above bad choices that you make in life. We need to make sure that when we’re talking to our children that we are merciful to our children. When I think of my experience in rearing my children, it’s the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life, and I’ve done a lot of things. I had to fight for my children, but I had to fight my children, too. Even if they made mistakes in life, I had to be their advocate. I had to be their mother. I had to be that person who was going to be there and love them no matter what. That was my job. In our communities, just because we didn’t give birth to them, that doesn’t mean that it is not our responsibility. We honor Dr. King by lifting each other up and lifting up our children and by letting our children know that they can rise.”
The NAACP was founded in 1909 and is the nation’s oldest and most widely recognized civil rights organization. Its more than half-million members throughout the United States and the world are advocates for civil rights in their communities. In Marion County, there are more than 140 members of the local chapter.
Pictured Above: Celess Barnes McEwen, 90, shares her story with the crowd Monday during the MLK Day celebration at St. John the Baptist Missionary Baptist Church. | Photo by Mark Rogers
