Harlan Kirgan
Martin Luther King Jr. Award-winner I. Jackson Burson Jr. said race relations have improved in south Louisiana in his lifetime.
Burson, 78, was presented the award during the 31st annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, which was held the Dr. J.G. Frank Family Life Center, 251 Nimitz St., Eunice.
Burson, who is white, noted the award is among the most important he has every received. “It is emblematic of the fact of progress we’ve been able to make in a small town in southwest Louisiana,” he said.
Burson is Eunice alderman at-large.
“I remember a time when we were not that progressive. In fact, I graduated from law school at Tulane in 1965 and there was not a single African-American graduate from Tulane Law School. When my son Benjamin graduated I would say at least 20 percent of his graduating class was African-American,” he said.
“Right now, as we stand here, a young man from Eunice, Darrel Papillion, graduated from Eunice High School, he was my law clerk for one summer, is president of the Louisiana State Bar Association, the organization that governs all lawyers in this state,” Burson said.
Burson also spoke about living through segregation as he grew up in Basile. “Everything was segregated,” he said.
There has been change, he said.
“Now, have we had enough? Well, all we have to is watch the news in the afternoon ... in some cases it looks like we are going backwards. But I’m encouraging you don’t let what you see on that 24-hour news cycle ever lead you to believe that this area of this state has not seen significant change. And, the fact that Mr. (Leroy “Pete”) Burney speaks today shows that when you remove the artificial walls that segregation put in the way of equal educational opportunity what the result is.”
The award and two others was presented during the ceremony that followed a parade from City Hall to the New Zion Baptist Church.
The theme for the celebration of King, who was assassinated in 1968, was “There is but one race, and that is the human race.”
Mathilda Johnwell, who owned and operated Mathilda’s Country Kitchen in Eunice, was presented the Humanitarian Award by Germaine Simpson, a Eunice alderwoman.
Lee John Reed, head custodian at St. Edmund school, was honored as the Grand Marshal. Chiquita Thomas, who presented the award, noted Reed is “...always willing to give a helping hand to someone in need.”
Johnathon Guillory, who was master of ceremonies, said there was significant change in 2016.
Guillory said, “We’ve seen Black Lives Matter, All Lives Matter, Hands Up Don’t Shoot. We’ve seen the senseless killing of our black youth and our police officers. We’ve seen a guy go into a church hall in Charleston, South Carolina, and kill innocent people. We’ve seen them take down the Confederate flag from our government facilities and yet we still suffer from racism.”
Guillory added, “As African-Americans we are under constant strees caused by the pervasive presence of racism. It is a stress imposed on us from outside ourselves.”
Hope and love are the keys to renewal, he said.
Eunice Mayor Scott Fontenot said, “I think to half century ago, I was not alive at the time ... we’ve come a long ways, but we’ve still got a ways to go.”