(Seguin) – Members of the Seguin MLK Day Planning Committee are sharing why events like the MLK Day Celebration are still so important for communities everywhere especially here in Seguin.
Joe Patterson, a member of the Seguin MLK Day Planning Committee, says no matter how far a community has come in, he says there always remains the reminder to do better, be better.
“The one thing for those of us who are religious and call ourselves Christians and I say it like that because you question sometimes, are we truly Christians that we follow God’s will and his rules? Because God only ask – Jesus Christ only ask one thing and that’s for us to love each other and treat each other like we’d want to be treated and that’s one of the hardest things for our society to do — to see your neighbor as somebody you can love and respect and treat them right but it’s changing,” said Patterson.
Patterson says the call to love is what underlines our purpose and until we can each recognize that, then work will remain on the table.
“And Lord knows we have to struggle with that and do it on both sides. I’m not just saying one side or the other because I know a lot of people who I know who have issues with assimilating and accumulating with people on the other side and it’s not easy. It’s not easy. I have dealt with it,” said Patterson.
Patterson, who now qualifies himself having his own experience under his belt, says he is reminded on why it is important for Seguin to continue such traditions as the MLK Day celebration.
“But I’d like to take this thought as something that was occurring one time in our existence and it was our youngsters and it’s been about 2000, I can remember we had a meeting with a group of youngsters out at TLU and we were a panel and they were talking about ‘we, don’t have anything to worry about anymore. We’ve made it. We don’t have racism to be concerned with. We don’t have to worry about blacks and whites not getting along.’ And we went out and said, ‘wait a minute, these young black people are confused.’ We had a good discussion, and they were serious about thinking ‘we’ve made it!’ Well, now these times are saying ‘you better take a second look.’ We as black people have not made it. We’ve improved. Granted, nobody is going to say we have not improved. But we as an induvial group can’t make it without the other side receiving us as their neighbors and as their loved ones in this society so we’ve got a long way to go. We are not there yet,” said Patterson.
Regina Lee, a MLK Day Planning Committee member, says Seguin should be grateful for the legacy and past leaders who almost two decades ago if not longer, had a vision to implement change and to continue living by the measures that were laid out by Slain Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King Jr. Lee says efforts such as the MLK Day March and its continued growth only illustrates Seguin’s own desire to continue what he once imagined and what he had prayed for.
“We are small with big ideas and big projections of things that (are held) here. I was writing down our members. Mr. (Earl) Moseley, he still alive with us. Clarence Little, he is still with us. Jewel Lewis, Mary Crunk (and) James “Boogie Crunk, Katherine Garcia and those were the people that were the foundation of it. Then I know Roscoe (Garcia) and Linda Redix and Earl Redix and just the legacy of us being a committee and I said one other time, this committee has been together longer than most marriages have lasted, and I think with the ups and downs and the disagreements – that this committee has lasted that long,” said Lee.
Patterson adds that although this year’s four-day celebration had to be modified to a one-day event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Seguin’s long history and tradition of hosting its MLK Day celebration have helped to initiate other pilot efforts across the state.
“Along with some of the history, you have to keep in mind that we have been inspirational in other communities – locally and keeping it close to home. New Braunfels has steamed from us. We went over I can remember about five years ago and helped kick them off with their Martin Luther King celebration and I’ll just be perfectly frank, it wasn’t but two other blacks in the room with their committee and I thought that was just outstanding and it has been successful. Another community that came in was Kingsville. They sent a representative here and they sat in on one of our meetings about seven or eight years ago now and since then, they’ve kicked off and they are doing great in Kingsville, so they’ve used us a model to get it going,” said Patterson.
Seguin’s MLK Day observance include and have included such events as the Seguin ISD choir program, a dinner theater, a soul food tasting, a gospel choir, a Baptist Ministers Union celebration, a talent shows and a formal guest speaker at TLU.
Committee members say they remain hopeful to return to the full-scale celebration in 2023.