The Greater Texarkana Branch of the NAACP celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy with faith, fellowship and freedom during their annual celebration Monday.
With a theme of "Advancing the Dream," area pastors and community leaders joined together to keep the reverend's dream alive with interpretive dance and dramatic impersonations of 1960 Olympic gold-winning boxer Cassius Clay (who later changed his name to Muhammad Ali) and Bessie Coleman, the first African-American female pilot. Coleman, who was born in Atlanta, Texas, was also deemed the first Native American woman to receive a pilot's license.
Monday's event also featured an inspirational and highly political speech by Rev. Dr. Corey D. Brown of the Sunset Missionary Baptist Church, in which he asked exactly what Republican Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States, meant when with his campaign slogan of "Make America Great Again."
"I suppose (that) means to steal land from the indigenous people. To take lands from the Indians and infect them with foreign diseases," he said. "Maybe incorporate in the largest form of mass human trafficking called the slave trade. How can you heighten the intelligence of Trump and deny the intelligence of Barack Obama?"
Brown called upon those gathered in the gymnasium of the Paul Laurence Dunbar Early Education Center to create change in their communities, and be aware of Trump's political agenda against African Americans.
"It's high time for our community to wake up," he said. "No longer can we sit on our hands and rusty do nothings as these next few years roll by. This is a time of bonding. This is a time of prayer. This is a time of unity. This is a time to do away with division and separation. This is a time when the body of Christ, the people of God look at each other as real brothers and sisters and ask the question what can I do to make my neighbor's life better than it was the day before?"
Robert Jones, president of the Greater Texarkana Branch, said there's hope on the horizon, even though Trump was elected into the top office in the free world.
"I know a lot of y'all are complaining about our newly elected president, but he might be the best thing that happened to y'all," Jones said. "Because at least now you're gonna start paying attention. And when they start taking things away, you might want to get up and do something."
He went on to say everything was going according to God's plan, and Trump being elected didn't happen by accident.
"We probably need this today in 2017," he said. "We need it because we have become complacent. Some of y'all thought we had arrived. But y'all need to know we've got a lot more to do. Yes, we're proud of Dr. King and we're here to celebrate, but we're here to do a whole lot more."
Other event highlights included Waggoner Creek Elementary fifth grader Raymond Brown reciting King's Aug. 28, 1963 "I Have a Dream Speech," a candlelight presentation of King's six principles of nonviolence, entertainment by the D2i Dance Studio and the Twin City Chapter of the Top Teens of America. A melody of songs was also presented by the Zion District East End Youth Fellowship.
The branch's next monthly meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 30, in Levi Hall of the Business Technology Building on the campus of Texarkana College.