Poplar Bluff pays respect on MLK Day

January 15th marks the 34th Annual Community Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Wheatley School in Poplar Bluff. Dozens of people came to support the event and participate in the morning of celebratory festivities.

Community members and local officials gathered to celebrate King’s life with presentations, speeches, songs, and prayer. Many individuals spoke and sang about the Civil Rights movement and how important King’s involvement in the movement was to the people of the time.

To commence the celebration, Rex Rattler lead by welcoming community members the festivities. He then introduced Rev. Ronald McCain of Central M.B. Church to lead the invocation.

Preceding the invocation was the singing of the National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance, and Lift Every Voice and Sing.

After the singings, prayer was held for the city of Poplar Bluff, the state of Missouri, and the nation lead by Minister JoAnn Brandon of Lively Stone, Minister Jeff Carter of Mount Calvary Church, and Rev. John McCain of Living Jesus Ministries.

Rhonda Kennedy, Wheatley Historical Perseveration Association Executive Board Member, welcomed attendees to the event and explained the importance of the event.

“I once told my children that we don’t want history to repeat itself and especially this history.” Kennedy said. “To keep from going back to what happened years ago, we need to remember our history. This history is not just for African Americans. It is for everyone.”

A tribute was then given by Rev. Gregory Kirk, United Gospel Rescue Mission.

“When the movement was happening, I lived on a military base in California. With that said, segregation wasn’t that noticeable.” Kirk said. “When I saw these people being abused I didn’t understand why it was happening. One thing that stuck out to me is when King spoke about the parable of the good Samaritan. King emphasized that no matter our skin color, we were all God’s people and that’s what King stood for.”

Another singing was lead by Janeece Matlock and then the Mayor of Poplar Bluff, Robert Smith, spoke about his journey to make change.

“I grew up in Stoddard County during the 50s and 60s with 12 siblings.” Smith said. “My biggest lesson as kid, which I think is still important today, is to treat others how you want to be treated.”

Smith continued by explaining his goals and journey thought the municipal government.

“In 2002, I ran for city council to make a different in Poplar Bluff, but my journey wasn’t over.” Smith explained. “In 2019, I was selected as the mayor of Poplar Bluff but my journey was not yet over. Young people here today, set a goal and strive for it, just as Martin Luther King, Jr. did. Know your journey and never give up.”

Erin Moore-Ceesay then introduced the speaker for the event, Mareece Webb of Mount Calvary Powerhouse Church. Webb began his speech by explaining his view of King.

“When talking about Martin Luther King, Jr, we are talking about service.” Webb said. “If you look back at King’s quotes, you will see that they are all about work and service and nothing about watching others work.”

Webb continued explaining how change has occurred in our society.

“Sometimes its hard to see the progress but if we stop and think; so much has changed.” Webb explained. “I can get gas anywhere when at one time, that was not allowed. My black kids can hangout with their white friends. These kinds of changes show King’s dream in action.”

Webb explained that change still needed to happen.

“There needs to be more change though.” Webb said. “That change can happen through us. We need to think, ‘What can we do?’ Working on the railroad, you meet a lot of people and spend a lot of time with them. Many people have some of the same issues and some are completely different. I’ve made a lot of friends with a lot of different views. We need to understand how others feel and see it from their perspective. That is a blessing in disguise.”

Webb followed by explaining the importance of everything people do no matter how large or small.

“We need to work together to prosper.” Webb said. “Sometimes people feel as if what they do doesn’t matter but it does. Everything you do, you should do with a spirit of excellence. Keep moving forward - fly if you can, if you can’t fly, run. If you cannot run, crawl. If you fall, fall forward.”

The celebration ended with a group singing of “Happy Birthday to You” and closing remarks were given by Rattler.

The event was put together by the Wheatley Historical Preservation Association and the Committee of Concerned Citizens.

Vernestine Bounds-Kennedy, member of the Committee of Concerned Citizens, explained the importance of the events that were held to remember Martin Luther King, Jr.

“We have to look at the rights and the rights of all people,” Bounds-Kennedy said. “We are celebrating a man who loved everyone and he is deserving of our celebration.”