Newton High School students, community members and civic organizations came out to take part in the Friends of Unity Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Celebration Monday in downtown Newton.
The celebration kicked off with a parade from Newton High School to the Newton Depot. After the parade, a ceremony honoring Martin Luther King Jr. was held in the Depot, with the theme, “Social Justice and the Right to Vote.”
Hinds County Circuit Court Judge and Newton native Winston L. Kidd was the guest speaker for Monday’s ceremony. As a child growing up in Newton, Kidd said reading was one of his favorite pass times, and Martin Luther King Jr. was one of his favorite subjects to read about.
“What I recall most is one of his quotes, and that quote was, ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in times of comfort and convenience but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy,’” he said.
Martin Luther King Jr. did not sit by and let others fight for voting rights and equality, Kidd said. King marched, he spoke, and he spent many days in jail for his support of African Americans. In the end, he said, King’s actions and advocacy led to his death.
“This leads us to a very important question, a question we have to ask ourselves,” Kidd said. “Are we doing all we can to live up to Dr. King’s legacy?”
The Fifteenth Amendment, which said voting rights could not be denied based on race, was ratified in 1870, Kidd said, but tactics such as poll taxes and literacy tests were enacted to circumvent the law and bar African Americans from voting.
“This is what Dr. King fought for,” he said. “Poll rights for African Americans and everyone to be able to vote.”
Unfortunately, there are still barriers in some places keeping African Americans from voting, Kidd said. Confusing voter ID laws and removing eligible voters from the voting rolls are sadly common.
Yet, Kidd said, to honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s memory, citizens have a duty to vote in every election.
“Each and every person has a responsibility and a duty to vote in each and every election,” he said. “It matters not if you think your candidate is not going to win. You have a responsibility to vote in each and every election.”
Kidd challenged the community to vote, to encourage others to vote and to support the younger generations, teaching tomorrow’s leaders to make good decisions.
“That’s what Dr. King would want you to do,” he said.
