L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Scores of residents from both sides of the Mississippi River took advantage of the pleasant weather Monday morning to pay tribute to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King.

From LaPlace to Edgard, jovial groups of proud men, women and children took to the streets of the parish to show that King’s message and dream is still alive and well.

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“It is a matter of respect for those who came before us and struggled so that people like me can live the life that I have,” said LaPlace teen Terrian Gauff, who has marched in the LaPlace parade since she was 5 years old. “We need to keep his dream alive.”

The nearly 2-mile march through LaPlace, which starts at East St. John Elementary and travels east to the Percy Hebert Building, is organized by the St. John chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. St. John SCLC President Rev. Forell Bering Sr., who is the head pastor for Bethlehem Missionary and New Pilgrim Baptist churches, opened the march with an energizing prayer.

“We have been given this day to remember the past and celebrate our future,” Bering shouted as if preaching to a congregation. “We are the embodiment of all that Dr. King spoke about. We have not reached the plateau, but we have come a long way. The dream has come true.”

As the marchers walked the streets, a mobile music system played snippets of King’s speeches mixed with gospel and R&B music. East St. John High School’s band, as well as Destrehan High School’s ROTC drum line, was also represented in the march.

When the parade, which doubled in size as it moved along, reached its destination, the crowd was treated to a memorial program, which included a prayer, various solos and an energetic reenactment of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech by LaPlace native Theron Tatum. The program also featured a speech from Mayor Omar Neal of Tuskegee, Ala.

“In November of 2008, I was inaugurated as mayor of Tuskegee,” Neal said. “The following day, our nation got its first African-American President. These are some extraordinary times we are living in.”

In Edgard, crowds gathered at the Roland Borne Sr. Memorial Library for a three-mile trek down River Road to the West Bank Community Center near the St. John Parish Courthouse. Parade Grand Marshal Preston Poche Jr. led the way, followed by various marching groups, which included the West St. John High School dance team and marching band.

The West Bank Civic Association created the Edgard Parade in 2006 so that west bank residents wouldn’t have to make the long journey across the river to the east bank to take part in Martin Luther King Day celebrations. The march is always scheduled for noon so that it does not conflict with events in LaPlace, which start earlier in the morning.

Other events across the River Parishes included a march and memorial service in St. Charles Parish, where residents walked from the foot of the Hale Boggs Bridge to the Courthouse in Hahnville. There was also a memorial and rally on the grounds of St. James High School in St. James.