West Tennesseans march in Jackson in honor of MLK

JACKSON, Tenn. — West Tennesseans came together Monday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. People from the community attended a breakfast and marched in his honor.

The Rev. Dr. Jesse L. Douglas, a civil rights activist, sang for hundreds of people at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast in Jackson. The 86-year-old marched alongside Dr. King in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery. “Just a normal cause,” Douglas said. “You were marching for a cause.”

People packed the T.R. White Sportsplex to hear Douglas and honor Dr. King. Vaddie James drives from Crockett County to participate every year. “He died for what he believed in,” James said. “So I think it’s important that we try to continue his legacy.”

Darrius Hawkins, a member of the Lane College Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, reflected on what Dr. King did for the nation. “We just want to keep his traditions, keep his values going,” Hawkins said.

The crowd hit the pavement after breakfast. They marched in memory of Dr. King from the T.R. White Sportsplex to Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Jackson.

“We thank God for the leadership of our sainted, martyred leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who gave his life that we might have freedom,” Douglas said.

Douglas also encouraged the crowd to vote. He graduated from Lane College in 1959.