HUNTER DWORACZYK [email protected]
Taylor residents made sure what would have been the 95th birthday of a famous civil rights leader was celebrated, regardless of cold weather.
While the marching aspect was canceled due to freezing temperatures, organizers held part of the 19th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day march and celebration at Taylor City Hall Monday, Jan. 15.
“I’m really proud when bigger cities like San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Houston and Killeen, they canceled their festivities for the whole day and we still go on with our program,” chairperson and organizer Shorty Mitchell said. “That speaks volumes.”
Mitchell said he counted about 85 people in attendance at the program.
Charles Miles, a trustee on the Rockdale Independent School District school board, said he came to Taylor’s program because he likes what
Every student present at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day program was brought to the front by the banner towards the end of the celebration.
the city is doing to celebrate MLK Day.
He said he has gone to Taylor’s event multiple years because of his connection to Mitchell and will take good ideas back to the Rockdale community for future use, such as directly playing a sermon with King’s voice.
As a part of the program, organizers played a portion of King’s sermon called “Drum Major
Instinct.” “You heard exactly what he said,” Miles said. “Not the watered down version…not different messages. It’s crazy because nowadays it’s still effective. We still learn from it. Every time I listen to it, I learn something different.”
Miles also mentioned being especially moved by the words of Pastor Anthony Watson, who served as the master of ceremony.
Watson described a need to focus on the word “access”, rather than equity.
“Access allows people to have the opportunity that they were barred from,” Watson said. “What we want to do is provide access. If we provide access in the city of Taylor, nobody should be upset because access has been given to all and not just a select few.”
A large portion of the ceremony involved recognition. Those at the podium spent time acknowledging leaders in the city and school.
Mayor Brandt Rydell gave remarks on the future of Taylor as he saw it. During this time, Rydell described what it was like to grow up in Taylor as a child and then eventually return back to town in 2006.
The mayor said he was disheartened to find out that newcomers felt that it was hard to be welcomed into the community if you did not have any connections already.
Rydell said he’s learned that some residents have an idealized version of what “Old Taylor” used to be. He also said that diversity needs to be celebrated as the growth moves on.
“If you don’t know it already, Taylor is growing. It’s changing,” Rydell said. “There’s going to be a lot more new Taylorites than old Taylorites in the years to come. It’s going to be a rich mix of residents.”
Organizers concluded their program by saying their first meeting for the MLK Day Celebration Committee will be Feb. 20 at Taylor City Hall.
A broadcast of the full program was live streamed on the Taylor Press Facebook page.
