Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around,
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around
(I just) Keep on a-walking, keep a-talking,
marching on to freedom land.
Residents of the Greenbrier Valley gathered in front of the Greenbrier County Courthouse to sing and march through downtown Lewisburg, celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The march endured the frigid cold to honor civil rights marches of the past, moving from Church Street onto Washington Street, going uphill. The event then continued into lunch and a celebration at Lewisburg United Methodist Church, featured residents, youth, and visitors as speakers, musicians, artists, and writers.
Lewisburg City Councilmember Beverly White read a poem, written to honor the day;
Fairness, unity, equality for all is our cry.
However this is not true for so many, why?
Why in 2019 are we still trying to come together for those who have no voice?
Why are we crying out to help everyone have a choice?
Fairness, unity, equality is everyone’s right,
but here we are still today continuing Dr. King’s fight.
Day after day someone is crying out to be heard,
someone wants to hear peaceful words.
Why can’t we help those in need each day?
Why can’t we listen to what others have to say?
Our children are watching us and how we treat others,
do you show compassion for your sisters and brothers?
Everything begins at home, what role model are you?
Are you teaching your children to treat others like you do?
We understand what is every human beings’ right;
fairness, unity, equality, let’s continue to fight
to make our world a better place.
Patrick Brown spoke to his experiences while running for Monroe County Board of Education last year.
“I became the first African American to run for Monroe County Board of Education,” said Brown. “Not only that, but I became the first African American to even be on a ballot. It was 2018 at that time and trust me when I say it wasn’t easy. … Now I didn’t expect to win, but what I did do was open eyes. I opened God’s eyes and said ‘Guess what, I’m here’ and I’ve got a loud mouth. People know I’m gonna say what I say when I wanna say it. My mom tells me all the time ‘Hey, you gotta settle down cause they may not like that.’ Guess what? It’s not a time for us to hold our tongue.”
Brown asked the audience to rise with him, explaining when many people rise, they rise together to break down boundaries between people, including racial, social, economic boundaries.
“If they don’t hear it, we’ll rise again,” Brown said. “Over and over and over, ten thousand times, over again. And at the end of the day, we’ll do it for you, for you, and for all of you, and we will be equal and we will be free.”
Jeff Woods took the stage as the keynote speaker, telling of his experiences as a young resident of Greenbrier County in the 1960s and the life that followed.
“I grew up in this town,” said Woods. “Yes, we like it right now, it’s a cool town. There were days it wasn’t so cool. … But I had a dream. I had a dream that somehow this kid of a cook and a janitor could become a lawyer, a soldier, and I was able to do that. But through it all, I recognized that but for God, but for people who encouraged me and said ‘You can make it if you try!’”
Woods has now been in law for 39 years, serving as a prosecutor, corporate and individual defense attorney, and a municipal judge. In addition, he is also a veteran, a published author, and an active minister of Mr. Zion Baptist Church in South Charleston.
“If you look at all of the great, eloquent quotes for Dr. Martin Luther King, you will find [this]; ‘that ain’t right,’” Woods said. “It’s not right for us to educate kids in different environments. It’s not right for us to make people go through the back door to purchase goods and services using the the same dollar bill that says ‘this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.’ We need to understand there are some debts that you can’t pay with money. There are some debts that have to be paid with your blood, your sweat, and your tears. … This much I know. Because of [King’s] efforts, I am here today in a position able to achieve, and that’s something that all of us need to focus on.”
Calling on everyone to work toward bringing better lives for those around them, Woods encouraged the audience to make the world a better place than when they found it, speaking out against those who would feed others baloney so they can eat steak, against those who want to get through the door and not hold it open for the next person, and against those who would want to stop people from crossing the border because of their “pedigree.”
“Our government has become a playground,” Woods said. “We need people who are going to do what we need to do. You got to do something sometimes to get people riled up, to get people to stand up. … I’ve got some work to do,” Woods said. “I’ve got some praying to do. I’ve got some encouraging to do. I’ve got to tell you, you’ve got the same mission that I have. Don’t worry about your reward. Worry about your job.”
In addition to the speeches, several speakers, musicians, and young people took the stage to speak to the theme of the day’s celebration; fairness, unity, and equality;
• Nevaeh Traynham and Dr. Calvin Andre McClinton both gave solo voice performances.
• Local youth performed a play depicting the life of a young Martin Luther King Jr.
• Area students read their essays to the crowd to ample applause and audience affirmations.
• Greenbrier County Race Matters in Education Committee member Loretta Young gave an update, speaking to the experience of a student who was called a racial slur and the response from both Race Matters and the Greenbrier County Board of Education.
• Naomi Cohen provided an update to several bills passed through the House of Delegates, including reform to SNAP benefits and bail reform.
• White read a proclamation from Lewisburg Mayor John Manchester, proclaiming this week to be Martin Luther King Jr. Week in the city.
The day finished everyone singing with one more round; “ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around.”
Read more in the Tuesday, January 22, 2019, edition of The West Virginia Daily News.
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