REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- The first African American mayor of Selma reflects on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during a Team Redstone observance at the Bob Jones Auditorium here, Jan. 20.
James Perkins, Jr., the keynote speaker, left the Team Redstone community with the message that the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday is a day for action.
"This holiday is not one of the 'eat, drink, and be merry' holidays," said Perkins. "The word holiday is a blended word for holy day so this holiday, holy day, is one in that we are to serve those that have not yet found peace, to serve those who have lost hope, and to serve those that do not yet believe that we are one nation under God."
Perkins reflected on King's words and credited the Bible as the foundation for the 1960's movement because of King's use of the Bible to create the speeches that shook the nation and spurred change.
"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. relied upon the Bible to express his vision of hope and his expectation of faith in action," said Perkins. "When King spoke the words 'let justice roll down like waters' and 'righteousness like a mighty stream' King was paraphrasing the prophet Amos in the Bible."
Despite Dr. King's untimely death, Perkins said his words lived on like a 'double-edged machete that gears the conscious and cuts the very souls of the oppressed.'
Perkins also outlined the uncanny parallels between his own life and King's life. King was born January 15, 1929 and was a preacher at the Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta. While Perkins was born January 16, 1953 and currently serves at the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church of Selma.
"My life has been a painful blessing," said Perkins. "Born Jan. 1953, just one year before the Supreme Court declared racial segregation in public education as unconstitutional, yet it was not until 17 years later that I was able to attend a fully integrated school and that [school] is now fully segregated today."
While we celebrate the accomplishments of people like: Army Materiel Command's General Dennis L. Via, Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and the President of the United States Barack Obama, remember that we have not fulfilled the pledge of the United States, said Perkins.
Perkins was elected as mayor of Selma on Sept. 12, 2000. He served in the position for two terms from 2000 to 2008. In winning the election in 2000, Perkins ousted long-time mayor Joe Smitherman. Smitherman was the mayor on March 7, 1965, when protestors were stopped from crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge by the Selma police and Alabama state troopers. The authorities assaulted marchers in an incident that became known as "Bloody Sunday." The incident was a major catalyst leading to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The audience also enjoyed a short play by actors from Space and Missile Defense Command and a professional the re-enacting of the "I Have a Dream" speech by Stephon Ferguson, performer.
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