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Wharton gets ready to remember 'The Dream' The sharing of memories of the fight and the continued need for progress in area of Civil Rights will part of this weekend's Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Celebration in Wharton. King...Remembering the Dream is the motivation for this year's celebration with the theme of this year's program being "Marching from Dream to Realty." A two-day observance is planned with a Freedom March scheduled for Saturday and the program presented on Sunday at Mother Zion Baptist Church, 112 Milam St. Saturday's Parade will start at the Wharton County Courthouse Square at 9:30 a.m. and proceed to the Dawson Elementary School Gym. It will be followed by a short program, event organizer Mozell Stephens said. "This year we've got several special guests that will be joining us for both the parade and program," Stephens said. "Artist Debra Wilson of Houston is one of our guests along with Geneva Flora. They're supposed to bring some youth groups from Houston with them that will add something special to the march. It's always better to have the young people participate with us. "The New Caney Church is also planning to participate with us which is inspiring." Sunday's program at Mother Zion Baptist is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. and will include several guest speakers, including Rev. Mickey Reynolds, the Precinct 1 Commissioner, along with Wilson, and Rev. E.L. Wallace of Progressive Baptist Church in El Campo. In discussing her participation, Wilson said people need a constant reminder of how the Civil Rights movement started and why it needs to continue. "I remember some time ago hearing amazing stories about Black History," she said. "There was an awesome strong spirituality and trust in God. There was a time when Blacks couldn't drink out of the same water fountain as Whites and sat in the back of the buses. But give thanks to God and MLK Jr. that they saw fit that we were to be set free. "To paraphrase King, 'Now we're free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we're free at last." While Wilson concentrated on the positive aspects, Flora will be bringing reminders of the shackles placed on her ancestors in America in a very literal sense. "I've got a collection of items from the days of slavery," she said in a phone interview. "It includes some of the chains used to bind slaves. I'll have some of the collection with me for the march and then on display at the church for the program." Stephens said the local march and programs started in 1988 and have been slowly growing in size for the past several years. "We're hoping this will be one of our biggest marches to date," she said. She added that in addition to reminding residents of King's dream, the local organizers are also doing their part to make it even more of a reality by sponsoring a scholarship program. Proceeds from the collection during the program will go toward the group's scholarship committee. "We annually try to present scholarships to deserving students," she said. "With education, people have the tools to improve their lives." |
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