Childhood and teen memories

The Influence of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

When I was a girl, my father worked with Mr. Acie Belton of the old Second Ward Voter's League that served the Scotlandville community. In those days, a Black person had to pass a citizenship or literacy test to be allowed to register to vote. In spite of a constitutional amendment that granted voting rights to all, the local government applied its own rules to frustrate and discourage citizens from applying to vote. I remember people coming to my house in the late fifties and early sixties so that my father could tutor them for the test. There was much joy when a citizen passed the test and was given the opportunity to vote.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. paved the way so that ordinary American citizens did not have to go this extra mile to receive rights that the 14^th amendment had already given them. Through speeches, conferences, marches and demonstrations, he brought the problem to the American public--to the American conscience. It was through his leadership and persistence that the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965, giving all citizens the right to freely vote.

I followed the civil rights movement through newspapers, magazines and television. Dr. King and the other marchers locked arms and walked the dusty roads of the south in peaceful protest. "We Shall Overcome" was a familiar refrain and became the theme song for the civil rights movement. I heard Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech as he delivered it in 1963. Even to this day when I hear it, my heart swells with pride.

I will never forget the black and white "I Am A Man" signs carried by the striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. Those words were a simple but eloquent declaration on hundreds of signs carried by men who wanted to work in equality. The strikers needed Dr. King to help voice their plight.  He came to the rescue of his brothers and gave his life.

I was a 19-year old college freshman when Dr. King was assassinated. Like many people my age, I remember exactly what I was doing that day when I heard the news. I was on a church outing taking choir pictures at a photographer's studio here in Scotlandville. That night, I forced myself to watch Walter Cronkite's face on the television screen so that I wouldn't have to see the tears in my father's eyes.

On the day of my 21^st birthday, I walked most of the length of Rosenwald Road to the fire station to apply for my voter registration card. By doing so, I honored the memory and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And I honored the tireless efforts of Mr. Belton and my father and the countless others across this nation who made sacrifices so that I might have this right.

Happy birthday, Dr. King.

Written and read by Delilah McManus at a Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration at the Scotlandville Branch library, Baton Rouge, LA on January 14, 2006