Civil rights activist recalls Selma, challenges MLK memorial crowd to turn words into action

YOUNGSTOWN

The Rev. Dr. Morris W. Lee challenged those attending a memorial service honoring the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to “live what we sing about and talk about.”

That is “to work to bring about meaningful change,” said the keynote speaker for the “From Selma to Significance” service Tuesday in the Mahoning County Courthouse rotunda.

The Baptist Pastors’ Council of Youngstown sponsored the event honoring the late Dr. King, an American Baptist minister, humanitarian and civil-rights leader who was assassinated April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn.

The Rev. Dr. Lee is pastor of Third Baptist Church, 1177 Park Hill Drive, the oldest black Baptist congregation in the Western Reserve, organized in 1874. He has served as pastor since 1960.

He said this event and others like it “pay tribute to King and those who continue to work for justice.”

Mr. Lee said he has “seen a lot of change” but also witnessed injustice. “I’ve seen dogs turned on people and billy clubs used on people,” he recalled about civil-rights marches and protests.

He noted he participated in the five-day, 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., to campaign for voting rights. Dr. Lee recalled the “hot sun and heat of Alabama” and a Confederate flag flying over the Statehouse while the American flag was relegated to a secondary site.

“What a day that was ... people representing all walks of life were there,” Mr. Lee said, noting marchers were from a multitude of faith backgrounds and colors.

He said he thought the march showed what needs to take place in America — people of all races working cooperatively.

But, he said, he recognized that segregation and prejudice weren’t limited to the United States but were worldwide issues.

Read more of his remarks in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.