WADESBORO- North Carolina Republican senators Jesse Helms and John Porter East led the opposition against the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, claiming Dr. King wasn’t important enough to receive the honor. President Ronald Reagan signed the MLK, Jr. holiday into law in 1983, but it wouldn’t be observed until January 20, 1986. It was on that cold, wintry day in 1986 that Ada Ford Singleton and the NAACP met at the courthouse in Wadesboro to celebrate the first MLK holiday.
Singleton was a staple of social justice in Wadesboro from the the 60s until her death. In 1967, Ada Mae Ford was the county president of the NAACP and led a lawsuit against the Anson County School Board of Education with the aim of combating racism. She would become Ada Ford Singleton following the death of her husband in the Korean War.
Though the U.S. Supreme court ruled segregation unconstitutional in the Brown v. Board of Education case of 1954, Anson County was one of the many school districts in the south that were slow to comply.
Black families who were beginning to integrate the schools in Morven had their homes, business, and vehicles bombed. They were also beaten and shot. No arrests were ever made in any of these attacks.
Singleton would continue to push for equality and full integration of schools despite the acts of violence against her and the black community. Its been over 50 years since the Anson County segregation lawsuit and 34 years since that first MLK, Jr. holiday.
Dr. King gave a speech to a the students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967, just six months before he would be assassinated. The speech was “What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?” and it was the theme of this year’s MLK events in Anson County.
Anson County kicked off the events with a series of Table Talks on Thursday, Jan. 16 at churches in Ansonville, Burnsville, Deep Creek, Lilesville, Morven, Peachland, Polkton, and Wadesboro. “How do we keep moving towards unity?” was the topic of the evening. At each table sat a group of multi-denominational and multi-racial individuals who discussed ways to end division and garner unity in the community.
The Community Prayer Breakfast was held on Saturday, Jan 18 at the Lockhart-Taylor Center and featured a performance of the upcoming production of The Lion King Jr play by the HOLLA! Community Center. The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Parade followed the breakfast.
A small group of local religious and community leaders braved the brisk morning and met at the Department of Social Services parking lot on Monday, Jan. 20 for the Dr. MLK, Jr. March. The group formed a prayer circle before Rev. Michael McLeod led the march towards the Lockhart-Taylor Center while singing “We Shall Overcome.” Others would join the march as they approached closer towards their destination.
Dr. King’s life as a boy, as a man, and as a leader was the subject of the Dr. MLK, Jr. Celebratory Service held at the Lockhart-Taylor Center following the march. “We are trying to put flesh on Dr. King, explore who he was as a person,” explained Winnie Bennett of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Planning Committee.
“Dr. King continued to evolve over his 39 years on this earth. Who he was as a youth, shaped him as a young man, which in turn, shaped who he was when he became the full-fledged leader of the Civil Rights Movement,” said Bennett.
Dr. King and Ada Ford Singleton may no longer be with us, but their dreams for a better tomorrow are still flourishing in the hearts and minds of Anson County.
Father Tim Hushion and Reverend Alban Burney hosted the Table Talk at Calvary Episcopal Church
