Local leaders look to teach youth about King’s legacy

The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was honored in downtown Ville Platte on Monday.
The Evangeline Parish Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Memorial Celebration kicked off with a parade that started on Harvey LeBas Drive before quickly turning onto MLK Drive. More than 50 people took part in the event which also featured a Ville Platte fire truck, police escort, a float, several vehicles and four wheelers, and more than two dozen children walking the route.
The parade ended at the MLK Center where a play about King’s legacy was performed.
“He was an advocate for peace,” said Rev. Matthew Alfred, pastor at St. Joseph Baptist Church in Chataignier. “It wasn’t for color. It was for all people to be treated fair and equally and that is something we are trying to pass down to the young people.”
Local church and civic leaders like Alfred know that there is still plenty of work to be done to see King’s dream finally become a reality. The key to that is to educating the younger generation of African-Americans.
Ville Platte Housing Authority Housing Supervisor Shelia Ben knows the importance of obtaining an education.
That was instilled into the Ville Platte High and South Louisiana Community College grad by her father.
“His goal for his children was that knowledge was power,” Ben said. “He always wanted us to get the best education we could get. That was something Dr. King preached and my father took to heart.”
Added Evangeline Parish Police Juror Daniel Arvie, who walked the parade route on Monday, “As long as they don’t get that education and get that degree then they will never be able to make Dr. King’s dream a reality.”
Just as important as obtaining a diploma or degree is to inspire the younger generations to become more involved within the community.
“The young people need to get involved,” Arvie said. “We need to get them to read more about Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement. We need them to get more involved in our community. We need them to have a more active role in the community.”
“We have to teach them that nothing is worth anything without struggle,” Ben said. “It is easy to not get an education or drop out. That is the easy way. Anytime something is easy it allows Satan to deceive. God wants us to look to him for what we need.”
For Alfred, who also drives a school bus, believes that it is up to them to instill Dr. King’s values into the future leaders of the African-American community.
“I take full responsibility in that,” Alfred said. “We’re not really teaching it but we are trying to display it. It is one thing to tell the kids. It is another thing to show the kids. We have to show them the actuality of what Christianity is about. Bring a sense of togetherness and awareness to these kids.
“I try to teach young people how important they are,” Alfred said. “You too can be legendary. They too can leave a legacy behind.”