Community celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.
Published 4:20 pm Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Community members walk in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade. Photos by KEITH MCCOY/ADVERTISER
Shelia Hall
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By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer
The community commemorated the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. with a parade and speeches on Jan. 20.
Guest speaker Shelia Hall, a Maplesville councilwomen, spoke on “seeing things with completeness” and having a vision for 2020.
Hall said 20 is the number of completion and discussed physical and spiritual sight.
From a spiritual perspective, Hall said Jesus helped his disciples to see spiritual truths through parables.
“He tried to make it plain, so that they can see,” Hall said.
She recounted the miracle from the book of Mark when Jesus put his spit on a man’s eyes, and at first, people looked like trees to him. Hall said this image was a spiritual view of how Jesus sees people.
“God wants to see us … growing tall, productive,” Hall said.
Hall said Jesus touched the man’s eyes a second time, and his physical sight was restored.
“What do you see? What is our vision? What do we see of for young people?” Hall asked
Hall thanked organizer Robert Binion for his continued work to “put things together” to continue the dream of Martin Luther King Jr.
“Today, as we reflect on Martin Luther King, he had a vision and his vision was that we would all be created equal, and that vision in his lifetime was able to be fulfilled because we was released from segregation as well as a year later able to have the voting rights granted to us,” Hall said.
Hall read from Genesis 1:26-27, which talks about how people are made in the image of God.
She said children need to be taught how to be “productive” adults and to “face opposition and fights with the Word of God.”
“Our vision is to change the present trajectory,” Hall said. “We must speak positive in our children’s lives — speak positive things. Explain to them that it’s OK to fail … It’s OK to lose a fight and not kill … Teach them that the company that the keep often determines the trouble that they meet.”
She said discipline and love are important in helping a child grow well.
“It (Love) makes the vision plain because instead of me hating on you I will show you love — that’s the vision,” Hall said. “That’s what Dr. King wanted.”
Hall challenged those present by asking that what their vision was for the coming year.
Binion recognized the youth that had walked in the parade.
“I like to see young folks getting involved in what we’re doing,” Binion said.
Maplesville Councilman Richard Davis also spoke about the importance of getting younger people involved because change comes through action, not complaints.
“It is not about what others are doing,” Davis said. “It is about what am I doing … What can I do to make my life count.”
Willie Freeman served as grand marshal for the parade this year.
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More photos from this event are available at shelbycountyphotos.com.
