The first video highlights the playing of "We Shall Overcome," by the New Smyrna Beach Middle School Stingrays Marching Band. In the middle video, sisters Samaria and Constance Darrisaw sang a song and in the far right video, Jimmy Harrell, who operates the African-American Museum in the Westside with his wife, Mary, gives the keynote speech, all in commemoration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday. Below, Pastor Lorenzo Laws hosts the MLK festivities at Old Fort Park.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Some 200 strong led by Allen Chapel AME Church pastor Lorenzo Laws: They marched, they prayed, they sang -- all in respect to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
A bright sunny Monday morning was the setting for a peaceful march -- more so a parade from the Westside of New Smyrna Beach and across the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge to downtown and Old Fort Park where blacks and whites who lived through segregation came together, along with future generations to commemorate the life and death of the civil rights leader.
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There was a poignant moment when two sisters -- Samaria and Constance Darrisaw stood together and sang "How Great thou Art." At one point in the song, the kid sister forgot her line and the crowd picked it up in unison, with the big sister taking over on her verse and the two were in harmony again.
Led by pastor Laws, others who addressed the assembly were Lester Mitchell of the local NAACP, Veris Robinson, former City Commissioner Oretha Bell and Pastor Pete Carter with the keynote address delivered by Jimmy Harrell.
He recalled the first march he was involved in and how he feared retribution in a formerly segregated city while marching down Canal Street, but it turned out peaceful. "Did Martin Luther King die in vain?," asked Harrell, who runs the African-American Museum in the Westside with his wife, Mary. "No he didn't. His dream is still alive -- still alive folks."
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Late in the MLK ceremony, people were asked to join hands for the singing of "Reach Out and Touch" but the larger photo shows not everyone followed the request. In the inset, City Commissioner Judy Reiker bows her head while Mayor Adam Barringer looks on.