For the first time in three years, more than a hundred people gathered Monday in Eatonton to participate locally in the nationwide Martin Luther King Jr. march.
They departed Newlife Outreach Christian Center on Agnes Drive promptly at 3 p.m., then marched in a procession behind an Eatonton Police Department car driven by Chief Howell Cardwell the half mile to the steps of the Putnam County courthouse.
“We didn’t have it the past two years because of the pandemic, but this year me, and my group got together and said, ‘Well, if we can go into school and we can go into work and we’re going to Walmart, we can surely get together and march again,’” Open Door Outreach Ministries CEO Thedora Sneed said.
She said her team also focused on involving Putnam County’s younger citizens by visiting the local high school and encouraging student participation so they would feel comfortable now and in the future.
“So next year when we come back together again, they’ll be more amped to be a part of this, instead of just walking. They can actually take the rein and help organize,” Sneed said. “We’ve got to help them now so that they’ll be able to lead properly later. If we don’t start now, then they won’t take the rein.”
Among those participating in the march was local barber Grady Jones, who was named Putnam County’s Co-Citizen of the Year last November in recognition of his local work with MAN UP Mentoring, a national organization that promotes connectivity, service, leadership, and empowerment to boys and young Black men in particular.
Jones said MAN UP works with kids from 6th through 12th grades with a stated goal of teaching them how to be good, productive men.
“Once they finish school, we want them to have a plan for their life instead of going to the street. We want them to actually want to be productive and hopefully, in the future, they’ll come back to our community and be leaders. So that’s what we are trying to do,” Jones explained.
The MLK March provides an ideal opportunity to give context and meaning to King’s work and legacy, he added.
“I think that this generation has forgotten about the struggles that Martin Luther King and other civil rights leader fought for and we’re trying to introduce them to that, to let them know that we’re not here just by chance. People gave their lives for us to be here, and we need to respect that,” Jones said. “I think all of humanity needs to focus on that. King’s message, it’s not just about him, it’s about the way life should be lived.”
Following brief comments by Sneed, several county and city officials addressed the crowd, including Eatonton Mayor John Reid, his wife and city councilperson Janie Reid and Putnam County Commissioner Daniel Brown. Each continued at least in part on the theme of personal responsibility and the need to remember and recognize the sacrifices made by civil rights leaders like Dr. King.
Lastly, after dispensing the usual thanks to event organizers and making a harmless joke at his own expense, newly named Pastor Christopher White of Rock Creek Baptist Church in Mansfield launched into a spirited, ofttimes fiery keynote address.
As most other speakers had, White opened with a famous MLK quote, this one from 1965: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends as we stand today.”
In other words, “it’s not always what bad people do that lasts; it’s also what good people fail to do,” White said. “I know there are some good-intentioned people in this community, but good intentions mean nothing without action.”
He went on to explain that of the many issues facing American society today, none are more prevalent or insidious than division among communities.
“We can’t continue to be silent as we watch a generation just half a century removed from slavery destroy everything our elders stood and fought for,” White warned. “It’s time we speak out against the tragedy of self-destruction in our kids that is alienating our seniors. It’s time we speak out against the void that has been set from the younger generation to the older generation.
“We have reached a frustrating point in our community where we feel like we just cannot reach this new generation. All right, but I got news for you today, an older generation that cannot reach a new generation is a dying generation. It’s on us today that we teach our kids the history. If not, we’re going to go back to the exact same thing.”
Rising in volume and speed, White again cautioned his audience about the modern tendency to “want to rewrite history and omit what we choose.” He reminded everyone in attendance of the sacrifices made by revolutionaries like King.
“Today I want you to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King, yes, but I want you to do more than that,” White said. “I want you to question yourself and be honest with your answer. Am I doing enough in the community that I live in to make it a better place?”