MLK Day: Parade canceled, but other events move forward

Beaumont Independent School District students who have been readying for the annual MLK Day Parade that typically features high school and university bands, elected officials and community service groups were advised this week that the annual event has been canceled for this year. Still, other events around Southeast Texas will highlight the Civil Rights Movement and activist and frontrunner Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Kicking off the festivities in advance of MLK Day on Monday, Jan. 17, is the return of Classic Movie Nights on Friday, Jan. 14, featuring the movie “Selma” on the Jefferson Theatre big screen, 345 Fannin St. in downtown Beaumont.

The historical drama centers on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. The Alabama city became the battleground in the fight for suffrage as, although Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally desegregated the South, discrimination was still rampant in communities far and wide.

Selma, which stars David Oyelowo as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is sponsored by ExxonMobil. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the movie begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $6 for adults, and $4 for children 12 and under.

Seats for the 36th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Brunch and Celebration taking place on Jan 17 were sold until Jan. 10, although the attendees for the annual affair had to be culled from thousands to hundreds due to the COVID pandemic. Last year’s event was held virtually due to the same, but the MLK Support Group organizers and founder Hargie Faye Savoy plan to be back at the Bob Bowers Civic Center to celebrate the brunch honorees face-to-face this year.

Among those slated to receive honors is Spirit Award recipient Dr. Levy Barnes; Let Freedom Ring Award recipients Darrell Anderson, Janice Milo and Kenneth Milo; and scholarship recipient Jewel Jackson.

Jan. 20, the Lamar University Office of Diversity and Inclusion is hosting a MLK celebration event at the Mary and John Gray Library 8th Floor Plummer Room beginning at 4 p.m. Beaumont City Councilman A.J. Turner will serve as the event’s guest speaker, and students from Pietzsch-McArthur are among the performers to be featured. The Mary and John Gray Library is located in the center of the Lamar University campus, 4400 MLK Parkway.

Continuing the celebration of remembering the Civil Rights Movements and its leaders, the Lutcher Theater is presenting Freedom Riders on Tuesday, Jan. 25, with performances at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Freedom Riders, a new play with original songs and music, explores the personalities behind one of the most critical chapters in the history of the U.S. Civil Rights movement.

The play is set in 1961, a time 15 years after the United States Supreme Court outlawed segregation, although bus lines and cities throughout the South still enforced a rigid system of separating black and white citizens. The Freedom Riders, both black and white Americans, from the North and the South, decided to travel together on buses that crossed state lines despite the hateful segregation and racism that had a stronghold in so many parts of the United States. Their mission highlights how non-violent protests were used to focus attention on the cruelties of segregation.

Tickets for groups of 10 or more are $5 each. Individual tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Freedom Riders is part of Lutcher Incredible Kids Events, but patrons of all ages are invited to experience the story of the Freedom Riders. Call the Box Office at (409) 886-5535 for more information or to purchase tickets.

–Jennifer Johnson