Leesville residents, civic groups and church congregations gathered Monday to remember the life and memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and marched down the city street named after the late civil rights leader to a community center for continued celebrations.

The city of Leesville has celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a parade for more than 20 years.

Monday’s march and rally was the last of a series of events that began on Thursday to celebrate King, which included a spelling bee, scholarship contest and worship service.

This year’s celebration began on U.S. 171 at Martin Luther King Drive and headed west.

The mile-long parade ended at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center for ongoing festivities.

Leesville Mayor Rick Allen said the celebrations were important in helping to bring the African-American and white communities of the city together.

“I’m so pleased with the participation of our city. I think it makes a statement about our ability to work together in spite of the conflicts in other cities and states,” he said. “Let us never forget, we are truly blessed.”

Samuel Briggs marched in the parade to help represent Leesville Masonic chapter. Briggs, a past master of the group, said his group offers a variety of outreach efforts including scholarships and holiday gifts for needy families. He said the group wants to let the community know that his group is there to help and to celebrate the life and memory of King, Jr.

“We’re marching so the community knows that we’re here,” he said. “(We have) a kids mentorship program, we help them with school and things like that.”

Not far behind the Masons, members of the Church of Jesus Christ House of Prayer marched along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive toward the community center. Church member Mario Parris ran alongside the youth group and sang army cadences as the children shouted the lyrics back.

“Who do you serve?” chanted Parris, the 18-year retired Army service member. “We tell them we serve Jesus.”

Children with the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Leesville beat drums and clapped as they marched toward the community center. Others tossed candy to those who watched the parade from the side of the road.

As festivities began at the community center, Rev. Joseph Garner with the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church asked the audience to sing “Lift Every Voice” in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the ongoing effort to improve the lives of African-Americans from the Civil Rights Era until today.

Leesville resident Louis Hopkins stood along the parade route and watched with several signs including one that read ‘No justice, no peace’, the motto of the anti-police brutality movement. He said African-Americans in Leesville still are not truly equal, and that the day’s events did not go far enough. He said the unfair targeting of African-Americans by police and other hurdles facing the community still stand in the way of true equality.

“You can’t just come out here on (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day) and do a parade then disappear for a year,” he said. “We need representation.”

(MGNonline)